What should have been
by yesimadramaqueen
Summary: After defeating Davros, Rose Tyler is along for the ride with the Doctor and Donna. What mischief will they find? Will the Doctor and Rose finally get together? 10/Rose. Basically, this is an AU end to series four, rewrite of a few specials, PLUS invented episodes. (What I wish happened) Also includes many of the companions and beloved bad guys. Love, adventure, and comedy.
1. Chapter 1

**Episode One: The Bad Wolf Returns**

_Chapter One:____Reunions_

_(Rewrite of The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)___

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Donna asked with a nod over the Doctor's shoulder.

He whipped around with a shocked expression on his face. In the distance, he saw a pink and yellow woman with a big gun, smiling wildly at him. He broke out into a wide grin and his trainers pealed across the pavement. Both of his hearts were leaping for joy. It was _his_ Rose. His perfect Rose had found a way back to him. She looked as happy to see him as he did her, but they both stopped in horror when the word hung in the air.

_"Exterminate!"_

A bright flash lit the dark street and both Rose and the Doctor were confused as to why they didn't feel any pain. "That was close. Talk about timing!" Captain Jack Harkness laughed uncontrollably. "Defabricators. Gotta love them…" he paused when he saw Rose and the Doctor staring at one another, and he smiled. "I'll give you two kids some privacy."

He backed away and Rose tossed her gun aside, running to the Doctor and throwing her arms about his neck. He held her tightly, losing himself in her blond locks. They didn't say anything, mostly because they were trying to keep their tears to themselves. "Long time no see," he whispered happily.

"Yeah. Been busy, you know…" she chuckled. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you so much, Rose Tyler. So, very much. Let me look at you," he pulled back with a grin. "Longer hair, nice jacket, and what a gun you've got there."

She picked it up with a big smile. "D'you like it?"

"Oh yes. Still defending the Earth, I see."

"Still wearing the same suit, I see. And trainers."

He held up his foot with a wiggle. "Rubber soles. Swear by 'em."

"I hate to interrupt your moment, but there's sort of a problem. You know, with the end of the universe and all that…" Jack commented. The Doctor lunged and embraced him. "Good to see you too, Doctor."

"You saved my life, Captain Jack Harkness. That could have been very ugly indeed. Now then! Shall we save the universe?" he offered his arm and Rose took it gleefully.

They went back to the TARDIS to come up with a plan. Donna hugged Rose unexpectedly. "It's good to really meet you, nice and proper. I've heard so much about you."

"Have you?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"All good things," Donna quickly added. "Really good things. I haven't seen him smile like that…well, ever…" she motioned to the grinning Doctor who was working on the screen. She noticed Jack and went over to him, smiling seductively. "And you are?"

"Captain Jack Harkness," he answered, kissing her hand. "And you?"

"Stop that! Time and place," the Doctor shouted.

"You can practically fondle Rose and I can't even say hello?" he defended, winking at Donna as he said it. She nearly fainted.

Rose joined the Doctor, gently placing a hand on the console. "I've missed her."

"She's missed you. Oh, she gets cranky sometimes. Really cranky. Because, well, you weren't here. But she is so happy right now! Ready to defend," he checked a few things and called the others over. "Donna, Jack—we need to get into space to sort things out. I want all of your brilliant brains thinking of a plan, got that? Allons-y!"

"You still say that?" Rose giggled.

He smiled. "All the time!" he flipped a switch and nothing happened. "What? _What_?" he checked the screen and frowned at the results. "The Daleks have us in a stasis ring. We're absolutely powerless. Can't move."

The TARDIS shifted and they held on, knowing that they were being taken somewhere against their will. "There's a massive Dalek ship at the center of the planets and they're calling the Crucible. I guess that's our destination…" Jack commented.

That's when the Doctor glanced at Rose, suddenly getting an idea. "I'm going to put something into place just in case the TARDIS is taken, which I'm assuming is somehow the point."

"What do you mean 'something in place'?" Jack questioned.

"Remember, when I wore a leather jacket, I sent Rose home against her will? It was an emergency protocol that I activated with my sonic screwdriver. I'm setting a new one for somewhere that I know it will be safe: with Wilf. That way, if we have to, I can send it away on a moment's notice!"

Rose scowled at the memory, whacking him in the arm for it. "Big idiot you were back then with those massive ears. Can you make it work both ways? What if we need an escape?"

"Oh, you are _brilliant_, Rose!" he laughed jubilantly. "I can indeed! Donna gave me the idea to get a remote like cars have when she compared the TARDIS to a rocket. Said they had a Ferrari and I had a box."

"Hey," Rose said angrily. "Don't put down the TARDIS."

"Oi, it's true! Have you seen rockets?"

"Later," the Doctor snapped. "We're running out of time. We need to talk more about the end of the universe and less about other things. So try to focus."

Donna huffed. "Well, you said these planets are like some sort of engine…but what for?"

He turned to Rose. "You've seen the future. What is it?"

She bit her lower lip anxiously. "It's the Darkness. The stars were going out. One by one they were dying. So, basically, we've been building this…travel machine. A dimension cannon so I could…so I…"

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"So I could come back…" she grinned like it was obvious and he made a low giggling sound. "Shut up. Anyway, it started to work and the dimension started to collapse. Not just our world, or yours, but the whole of reality. Even the void was dead. Something is destroying everything. And, it's weird…the dimension could measure timelines and they all converged on Donna."

"But why? I mean, what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick…" she shrugged.

They came to a halt and the Doctor frowned. "Well. Dalek Crucible. Welcome aboard, travelers. Enjoy your stay."

"Exit the TARIDS!" the Supreme Dalek demanded. "Emerge from your craft immediately or you shall be exterminated!"

The Doctor sighed and pocketed his remote. "We're gonna have to go out there. If we don't, they'll just get in."

"But, you said nothing can get through the doors…" Rose frowned.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "You've got extrapolator shielding."

He bobbed his head from side to side. "Well, last time we fought Daleks they were scavengers and hybrids. And completely mad. But, this is something different. At the height of its power, it's a fully-fledged Dalek Empire. They're experts at fighting TARDIS's and they can do just about anything. Right now that wooden door is…just a wooden door. But one last thing, if anything happens the TARDIS would come back in this very spot. Got that? Take a good look around when we go."

They stepped outside of the TARDIS one by one and were surrounded by Daleks. "Your TARDIS is ours now!" the Supreme Dalek warned. "It will be destroyed!"

The Doctor hit the button on the remote, which he had hidden his pocket. It vanished just as it was about to be dumped. "What Time Lord trickery is this?" the Supreme Dalek trembled.

"That? Oh, it wasn't me. The old girl has a mind of her own. They can alter course, you know. She didn't feel like being destroyed today. But, who does?" the Doctor shrugged smugly. "Now, what do you want?"

"The Doctor and the blond will be taken to the vault!" the Supreme Dalek demanded. "Take the others to the test chamber!"

The Doctor grabbed Donna's hand and slid her the remote with a nod. She understood and gave him a wink. They were split up and the Doctor and Rose entered the vault. Davros was waiting for them and smirked sinisterly as they were both contained by a force shield. They looked at each other sadly, as Rose would like nothing more than to be holding the Doctor's hand while the psycho explained his dastardly plot to end all universes.

"Would you like to hear the apotheosis of my genius, Doctor?" Davros inquired. "These twenty-seven planets form an energy pattern that I have amplified into a reality bomb. It's able to break down the electrical forces holding everything together. That's right! It will dissolve every form of matter across the entire universe. It will never stop, never falter, never fade. People and planets and stars will be turned to dust! And the wave length will continue, breaking through the rift of the Medusa Cascade into every last dimension, parallel world, and corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself! Dalek Caan saw it all. He saw time and he saw you. Both of you."

A voice from a different section of the vault began to speak. "This…all of this…I have foreseen! In the wind, the wild wind! The Doctor and his faithful companion will be here as witness of the end of everything!"

"What is that?" Rose asked in repulsion.

"The last of Cult of Skaro. He flew into the Time War unprotected, it seems…" the Doctor commented. "Not his best look. Makes you miss the tin can, wouldn't you say?"

"Enough!" Davros raged. "Let's watch the testing. See if you're still smiling then."

"Probably will," Rose smirked with a nod in his direction. "He's in a good mood. You know, all things considered. Can't stop him when he's like this. I've tried. Mornings are the worst."

"I am a morning person…" he agreed with another low giggle.

Meanwhile, Jack and Donna were added to a herd of people. As luck would have it, they were in the same batch as Jackie, Mickey, and Sarah Jane. They shoved through a line of people to get behind them. "Mickey Mouse," Jack whispered. "Of all the people."

"Captain Cheesecake," Mickey whispered in response. "See you've come to save the day. Got a plan?"

"Well, half a plan…" Jack shrugged as he pointed to their teleport devices. "Are those working?"

"No," Jackie scowled. "Not yet. It hasn't recharged."

"Well, then I guess it's my plan. Just so everyone knows, I can't die. It'll look like I'm dead, but I'm really not. So, don't breakdown in tears and curse the terrible universe for taking away my charming face. Just run for the nearest door and meet me at the TARDIS. Donna—"

"I won't bring it back until we get there," she nodded, throwing her arms around him. "Good luck!"

He ran ahead and pulled his gun, shooting one of the Daleks. As they were focused on Jack, Donna and the others slipped into a nearby hallway. "I'm Donna," she introduced herself. "And who are you lot?"

"Mickey Smith. I fight the bad guys," he smiled. "That's Jackie Tyler."

"Oh my God," Donna gasped. "You're Rose's Mum!"

"Yes, I am! By the way, where the hell is my daughter? I had to come wandering across universes just to find her," she huffed bitterly.

Donna cackled. "Where else? With the Doctor. They'll be waiting on us. And you?"

"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to run with the Doctor."

"Who hasn't? No wonder the man's so skinny. Run, run, run all the time. Okay, anyway. Follow me, kids. There's a blue box we need to bring back!"

Back in the vault, the Doctor and Rose watched in horror as the humans were destroyed. "I can't believe that!" Rose hissed. "You murdered them!"

"All in the name of experimentation, my dear…" Davros chuckled. "Now, let the countdown begin!"

Jack survived the Daleks and the test with little discomfort. He found a hallway and hoped that he could find his way back to the room and the TARDIS. Donna was going in the wrong direction, but they managed to pull up the schematics of the ship on a computer. As quickly as possible, they went back to the Supreme Dalek's chamber, which was labeled as such for some unknown reason. Once there, Donna hit the button and they ran into the TARDIS. Jack wasn't far behind, thanks to the others' issues with getting lost, and he burst through the TARDIS doors urgently. "Can someone fly this thing into the next room?"

There was a pause. "I know how to fly," Donna offered. "Not very well."

"Well, that's more than anyone else can say…" Mickey shrugged as Donna took the controls. "Hey, Jack, are those what I think they are?"

Jack looked over and grinned. "Yes, they are, my friend!"

With a shaky start, they faded just as the Daleks were about to attack.

Back in the vault, the Doctor and Rose were anxiously watching the countdown. They suddenly received a transmission. The Doctor gaped. "Martha?"

"Daleks," she began in a commanding tone. "You have twenty-seven planets, but what it if becomes twenty-six? I bet that would cause a lot of problems. I have an Osterhagen Key and I'm not afraid to use it."

"What's an Osterhagen Key?" the Doctor demanded.

"There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed strategically beneath the Earth's crust. If I use this key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."

"What? Who would have invented that—well, someone named Osterhagen, I would assume. But, anyway, Martha! Are you insane?" the Doctor hissed.

"It's to be used when the Earth is so without hope and the suffering would be so great…there is no other option. So what's it going to be, Daleks?"

Davros laughed and she was instantly transported into the vault, kept by a force shield. "Stupid child, there is no escaping this."

Suddenly, the TARDIS appeared inside of the room a bit too high, shaking and wobbling. It knocked the head off a nearby Dalek and skidded to a stop against the wall. When the doors opened, Mickey and Jack leapt out with their defabricators. They defused the immediate threats as Donna, Jackie, and Sarah Jane came onto the scene.

"Sarah Jane!" the Doctor called. "Do you remember anything I taught you about Dalek technology?"

"I may have gotten older, but I haven't gone senile…" she chuckled as she waltzed up to the control station.

"That face…impossible! After all these years!" Davros cried.

"Davros," Sarah Jane smirked. "Let's see…closing all zed neutrino relay loops using an internalized synchronous back feed reversal loop…that button there."

She hit a few more things and the force shields were lowered. The Doctor ran over to the console. "I need another person who has really fast fingers if we're going to stop this countdown."

"Oi, supertemp! I can do over one hundred words a minute!" Donna volunteered.

He hesitated. "You can't even change a plug."

"Watch it, spaceman. I flew that box in here, didn't I?" she went to the console and cracked her knuckles. "Tell me what buttons to push."

"That there. It's a bio electric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion. It'll disable the Daleks. And Sarah Jane, I need a macro transmission of a k-field wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating semi-bifold matrix. Otherwise known as flip those and hit that. Now, as for me. Let me do a bit of work myself!"

They got to work and disabled the Daleks and the reality bomb. "We will take the universe by force!" Davros screamed over the sounds of the confused Daleks. He was still held at gunpoint by Jack and Mickey, unable to stop the Doctor.

"Sure, you keep that dream alive…" the Doctor chuckled, suddenly frowning when the readings began to go insane. "All right, which one of you is trying to destroy the ship?"

"I didn't touch anything you didn't tell me to," Sarah Jane shrugged.

Donna pulled a face. "I might have accidentally slipped on the last entry…what'd I do?"

"Well, you've just committed genocide. But, it's not like you did that on purpose. You've just saved all universes, and I don't have time to stop it. Get to the TARDIS! This place is about to fall apart!"

The ship began to catch fire and they all ran back into the TARDIS. The Doctor set the course and heard Martha. "What about Earth? It's still in the wrong part of space!"

"On it," he answered as he called Torchwood. "This is the Doctor. Are you receiving?"

Gwen and Ianto were on the screen. "Loud and clear. Is Jack with you?"

"I can't get rid of the man," the Doctor smiled. "Now, open that rift manipulator and send all that power my way. You got that?"

"Doing it now," Ianto answered.

The Doctor looked over at Sarah Jane. "What's your son's name?"

"Luke and the computer is Mr. Smith."

"Luke, Mr. Smith. C'mon, pip pip. I need you to harness the rift power and loop it around the TARDIS," he turned to Rose who was almost standing on top of him. "It's a tow rope! Isn't that clever?"

"I regret that I cannot unless I have remote access to TARDIS base code numerals," Mr. Smith responded.

Sarah Jane pushed the Doctor aside before he could respond. "K-9! Here boy!"

K-9 appeared. "Affirmative, mistress. Sending TARDIS base codes now."

"Good boy," the Doctor said in a baby voice. "Now, you lot," he ran around the console placing hands on various aspects of the TARDIS. "She needs six pilots to run smoothly, and this time around we have enough hands! Martha, you there. Jack, here. Mickey, hold that. Sarah, keep that level. Rose, keep doing that. And…Jackie…um…sorry. But no, Jackie. Just. No. Don't touch anything. Ever. Okay, off we go!"

They began to tow the entire Earth back into its place in the Solar System. Everyone clapped when Earth fell back into orbit, and they went around hugging each other. Donna wouldn't let go of Jack, despite his gentle efforts to let go. Rose hugged Mickey and her mum, followed by Sarah Jane and Martha. Martha paused, looking at her closely. "I know you."

"You do?" Rose said in surprise. "I don't think we've met."

"We haven't, but…well…it was a drawing in a journal. You're Rose. He finally found you."

She blushed and gave her a tiny grin. "Yeah, that's me. You're Martha, right?"

"Yeah. I traveled with him after you did for a while, but I just couldn't stay. It was wonderful and everything, but all he could ever see was you. He missed you. A lot. More than he'll probably let on, but I think you should know that."

"Thank you. That's very kind."

She laughed. "You should have heard what I thought about you back in those days. Jealous of a ghost, I'd say. But here you are. Right in front of me."

The Doctor came over and hugged Martha, smiling brightly before he scooped Rose into his arms and held on tightly. Sarah Jane had to interrupt them to say that she had to be going home to her son. They landed in London and he said farewell to Sarah Jane, Jack, Martha, and even Mickey—who had decided to stay on this world since he knew what would happen next. The Doctor made sure that Martha would get rid of that Osterhagen Key before she vanished, and then he returned to the TARDIS.

"Right, one last stop! _Dårlig ulv stranden_…better known as Bad Wolf Bay!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two: Homecoming_

"Great. Bloody Norway. Fat lot of good that is," Jackie groaned as she stepped onto the beach. "I'll have to call Pete to come out here. He's taking care of our son. Did you know that I had a son, Doctor?"

"Congratulations! What did you call him?" the Doctor inquired brightly.

"Doctor," she said seriously, laughing hysterically at the look on his face. "No, dumbo. We call him Tony."

Rose hugged her mum as firmly as she possibly could. "Mum," she said, already feeling the tears threatening her eyes.

"I know," Jackie chuckled, although her eyes were filled with tears as well. "Doctor, you better take care of my little girl. You are going to take her with you, aren't you?"

Honestly, Rose didn't think of that. She assumed that she'd come back and that would be that, but time had passed and he had Donna along for the ride. The Doctor's face was downright merry. "Oh yes. I mean, if that's all right with her."

Donna whacked him and Rose looked offended. "Of course it's all right with me. Is it all right with you?"

"I just said that I'd be taking you with me!" he defended, rubbing the spot that Donna hit. "How was I supposed to know if you still wanted to come along? You could be married in this universe for all I know."

"Well, I'm not and you're thick for thinking that."

"You are thick for thinking that," Donna agreed.

His mouth bobbed, but he couldn't come up with anything else to say. Instead, he motioned to the TARDIS. "We don't have much more time before the gap closes."

Rose hugged Jackie again while Jackie rattled on and on. "Now, you take care of yourself. Make sure you eat right and get your vitamins. And don't be afraid to smack him once in a while to keep him in line!"

"I do that," Donna spoke up. The Doctor glared and she threatened him with her hand.

"You better remember who you are and where you came from, Rose Tyler. You're a girl from London and my daughter, not some alien!" Jackie added. "I love you so much. I can't believe this is it. I'll tell Tony that his sister is out saving the universe."

Rose smiled sadly. "Tell Dad and my little brother that I love them. I love you too, Mum. Take care of yourself. I mean it."

They hugged a final time and the three travelers prepared to leave in the TARDIS. Rose waved from the doorway and Jackie waved back, shouting, "I love you! I'll always remember that face! And Doctor, you better not get her killed! I don't care what I have to do to find you, but I will and I will make you pay for it!"

"Bye, Jackie!" the Doctor called as they began to disappear. "I'm sure you would!"

Once they were gone, Rose stood by the closed doors. She tried to keep her emotions under control, but tears were threatening to escape. Donna motioned to her in case the Doctor couldn't tell, yet he did. He was already walking to her. His arms went around her and she turned into his chest, bawling her eyes out.

"You're sure about this?" he whispered. "I might have time to take you back."

"I made my choice, remember? I'll keep making the same one," she forced a brave smile. "I'll miss my family, but not as much as I missed…" she paused, gazing up into his dark eyes. "All of this."

He nodded. "Quite right too. Now, I say we stop by London. I'm sure Wilf is very concerned about his granddaughter and the blue box that appeared in his living room."

When they arrived, Wilf and Sylvia darted across the garden to embrace Donna. Sylvia smacked the Doctor when they got close enough. "What was that for?" he declared, pointing a finger at Donna. "Now I see where you get that hitting thing."

"You've been traveling with my daughter and I didn't know! And then the planet and those things…" Sylvia rambled. "And then out of nowhere that blue box showed up in my living room!"

"Stop it, sweetheart. They saved the universe!" Wilf laughed, hugging the Doctor and embracing Rose. "And you, Rose! You were something else! That big gun and destroying that trashcan thing with the plunger eye!"

Rose grinned shyly and the Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Really? You must have been brilliant."

Her blush deepened. "Yeah, well. Defender of the Earth and all that. No big deal."

"Poppycock. You were amazing! Stay for tea?" Wilf offered at the protest of Sylvia.

As Rose and the Doctor were in the kitchen pouring their tea, Donna was sitting with Wilf nearby. "See that, Gramps?" she whispered with a nod in the couple's direction.

Wilf looked and winked at her. "They're…?"

"Not yet. Story of lost love. Really tragic. But, I'm worried."

"About what? Don't tell me more aliens are on the way!" he exclaimed, searching the room with his eyes to find his paint gun.

"No," Donna chuckled. "The Doctor can be…how do I put this…he's not one for acknowledging his feelings. I hope he doesn't mess up with her."

"You know what," Wilf muttered, motioning her closer. "Do you remember when you were little? All your friends would come to you with their love life problems?"

Her eyes lit up. "I charged a quarter for drafting love notes. Once a temp, always a temp."

"Why don't you use some of that magic? Play matchmaker. The man deserves to be happy."

They heard Rose laughing about something and the Doctor was smiling. Donna grinned. "If it comes to that, I have no problem butting in."

"You never have."

"Gramps," she scowled. "Wait, was that compliment?"

"Of course it was, my Donna!" he laughed happily. "Look at you lot. Off to save the world. See the stars. Quite a team you'll make."

Donna nodded. "I wonder how things will change with her on the TARDIS. What if I become a third wheel?"

He scoffed. "You're too fiery for that. From what I know about that blond, you two will get on just fine."

After a lovely time over tea, even Sylvia loosened up, they said their goodbyes and piled into the TARDIS. The Doctor grinned. "Where would we like to go next?"

"Your pick," Donna offered. "We can take turns."

"I really don't care. Anywhere is fine with me. I'm just glad to be back…" she glanced at the Doctor and blushed when Donna made suggestive faces at her.

"Well, the TARDIS could use some power. After that, the universe is ours to explore!" he exclaimed and hit a few buttons, rattling off to stop at Cardiff for a spell. Once they were stopped, he went over to Rose with his hands in his pockets. "Your room is how you left it. Hasn't been touched. Well, except that it's moved a few doors down."

Donna pointed. "I can show her. It's the one that's always locked, right?"

He flustered a bit at the surprised look on Rose's face. "Yeah. That's the one."

Donna and Rose didn't move. He motioned them on, but Donna held out her hand. "I need the key, spaceman."

"Right, of course…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably as he reached into his breast pocket. He tossed the key to Donna, and she caught it with ease. "Off you go, then. I have some tinkering to do."

"This way," Donna whispered as she took Rose by the arm.

They wandered down the hallway past her room and the Doctor's, briskly moving by several doors. She stopped at one and tried to get inside. It was locked, so she smiled triumphantly and put the key in the lock. They went in and Rose covered her mouth. "I can't believe it."

"Believe what?" Donna inquired as Rose looked around.

"It's the exact same. Everything about it. Sorry it's so messy. I wasn't expecting to leave when I did," she explained as she neatened a few drawers and kicked some clothes back into her wardrobe room. She ran a hand down the photographs she pinned to the wall of her mother and father, and even a few of Mickey, Jack, and London. "Nothing has even moved or aged."

"That's the TARDIS for you," Donna chuckled. She frowned when Rose looked stricken. "What? What's wrong?"

"Well, it isn't the exact same after all. My bed's been made. I know for sure that I didn't make it before I left. My mum was on the TARDIS and came in here. She really complained about it. I remember everything about that day. Worst day of my life…"

Rose sat down on the bed and Donna decided to join her, holding out the key to the room. Rose took it and smiled at her initials carved into the metal. He kept the key close, which said a lot. Her head was spinning. After years of trying to get back, there she was.

"So," Donna started a little uncomfortably. "It's interesting, isn't it? Both of us being on here at once."

"Yeah," Rose laughed. "Although, we've traveled with three before. Jack was along for a while. Things went well then."

Donna nearly fainted at the thought of him. "He's so dreamy! I mean _wow_."

"I know," she laughed. "That's what I thought when I met him."

"He's not like the Doctor. He's all big and muscular. The Doctor's so thin. Like a twig. I keep trying to get him to eat something, put on a little weight. All bone, that one."

She smirked. "He is pretty slim. What's it been like traveling with him?"

"Loads of fun. So exciting! I met the Ood—"

"So did I! Where'd you meet them?"

"This snowy planet. We liberated them. All in a day's work. Let's see, I also met Agatha Christie once."

"Really? I've met Charles Dickens."

"Got taken by a library computer."

"Had my face taken by a television."

"Responsible for the eruption of Pompeii, saved the world from ATMOS, dealt with alien babies made from fat…"

"Responsible for one of the explosions during the Blitz, saved the world from Cybermen and Daleks, dealt with a possessed child…"

Donna beamed. "We have so much in common!"

"Don't we just?"

They embraced and Donna pulled back gleefully. "Oh, it'll be so nice to have a human around. Especially a female."

"Poor Doctor," Rose chuckled, looking slightly forlorn. "You said that he…you know. Mentioned me."

She nodded. "He did. Always very fondly, by the way. Was he ever…dark…around you?"

"How do you mean?"

"He stood by and watched as he killed this alien's children. If I hadn't told him to go, he would have died right there. If I hadn't told him to go back, he would have let this family from Pompeii die. And they helped us. They were lovely people. This other time, I was convinced that he was going to shoot this man for shooting Jenny. He didn't, but I was really worried."

Rose was confused. "Jenny?"

"Oh, right. He had a daughter. Sort of. They used his DNA to create a new person. Jenny, we called her. She was a lovely young woman. Planned to travel with us. But, they shot her. She died in his arms. Funny, she was blond like you are. Wonder if that was a subconscious thing on his part. Doesn't matter. She's all gone now."

"That's awful," Rose grimaced, wishing that she could have been there for him.

"Yeah. Anyway, he has these moments where he scares me to death. I wonder what would happen if I weren't around to keep him in check. Did you ever feel that way?"

She shook her head. "Not this version. I did when we first met, but after he regenerated he was so different. Every now and then I'd see that he still had that in him. From the war. But, we were almost always laughing and smiling."

"I can tell."

"Seriously?"

"Definitely! He's alive now that you're back. You should have seen him after you left."

She recalled that Donna met the Doctor close to when she left, but she didn't know how soon after it was. "When exactly did you meet him?"

"According to him, right after he said goodbye to you. Literally right after. I just showed up. I thought he'd kidnapped me. Finding your jacket made it worse."

"You found my jacket?"

"Draped on the railing. I asked him about it and he just went completely dismal. Like he was a lost boy in the woods. I felt so sorry for him. And when I asked your name! My heart broke. _Her name is Rose_, he said looking like he was about to blubber. I knew right then."

Rose wasn't following. "Knew what?"

"How special you are. Don't tell her I said so, I quite like her really, but he never got that way about Martha. Sure, he'd talk about her, but not like you. I can tell he's special to you too."

"Donna!" the Doctor called from down the hallway. "Where did you put my tool kit?"

She rolled her eyes. "Men can't find things to save their lives!" she got up and shouted out the door. "One moment!" she turned back to Rose. "Welcome home, Rose."

"Thank you, Donna."

Rose was left to her thoughts. She held the key in her hand and flopped down on the bed, which smelled like laundry detergent and aftershave. It made her very suspicious about his _"Hasn't been touched" _comment. Could it be that he missed her as much as she missed him? Could it be that Donna was right and she was somebody special? She hoped so because she didn't come back to be mates.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three: New Beginnings_

"Where's Rose?" the Doctor asked Donna as she handed him his tool kit. "Still in her room?"

"Yeah. I'd bet that she's going to fall asleep in there. Some day for her."

He moved his head in acknowledgement and checked a few systems. Donna was clearly sticking around because she had something on her mind. "Yes?"

"You've been in there."

"In where?"

"The room."

"What room?"

"Don't play stupid, Doctor. _Rose's room_."

His back stiffened and he ran a hand through his hair. "Why? Did she say something?"

"Yeah. Something about her bed. You told me that you don't sleep much and like to wander the TARDIS at night. I can never find you after hours. Ever. For any reason."

He put his hands in his pockets. "It's bigger on the inside. Plenty of places I could be."

"Right. Keeping the key on you at all times in your breast pocket right over one of your hearts? Not buying it, spaceman!"

"Well you don't have to, earthgirl!"

She gasped and pointed a finger. "Oi! Don't get smart with me!"

"You get smart with me all the time!"

"Because I can! I'm snarky. It works for me. Now, fess up. You sleep in her bed, don't you?"

"Shush!" he whispered, pulling her aside and away from the hallway. "Don't be so loud for once."

"For once?!"

"_Shush_! She might be trying to get some rest."

Donna smirked wickedly. "Or you don't want her to know. I figured it out. Tell her."

"What? Why?"

"Why? Ugh, _men_ are so thick. She loves you, dumbo. You love her back. You've been miserable without her. She's here. For good. You know what the next logical step is?" she crossed her fingers. "Togetherness."

"Thank you for your opinion, but this is between me and Rose."

She rolled her eyes. "Meaning that you won't do anything except pine away until it's too late…_again_."

"Donna, I don't want to hear this right now."

"See my face? Am I bothered?"

"What—"

"Am I bothered, though?"

"You—"

"No, I'm not. You know why? I don't care if you don't want to hear it! _You need to tell her_."

He gestured emphatically. "She just got back! She's left her world and her family behind permanently. Her own mother is gone forever. This is hardly the time to jump into anything. I can't just rush in there, tell her feelings, and hope it works out. If anything happens, anything at all, what then? She picked the TARDIS over her old life. What if she loses that?"

"She picked _you_ over her old life. And, if she loses _you_ it won't be her fault. It'll be yours. That's right. I said it. You are getting the blame, sunshine."

"What? Me?"

"Yep. You."

"What did I do?"

"Nothing."

He stared at her strangely. "If I did nothing, why are you yelling at me?"

"Because you have done nothing! Be proactive for once. You have to do something about her."

"No, I don't. I don't have to do a thing if I don't want to."

She smirked. "But you want to, though."

"Don't start."

"You do. Don't you, Doctor?"

"This isn't the time for this, all right?"

"But you want to! I'll bet you have plenty of ideas about what to do with her."

He put his face in his hands. "Donna…"

"Doctor…"

"It's complicated."

"Un-complicate!"

With a glare, he stormed out of the console room. He couldn't help feeling cross with Donna. He knew that she was only trying to help, but his mind was buzzing. The last thing he ever expected was to see Rose again, let alone have her back on the TARDIS. He didn't know where to start or what to do. They left things unfinished, but he wasn't about to charge into anything.

The Doctor didn't notice where he wound up until he was already there. He stood outside of Rose's room and his feet refused to move. Carefully, he pushed open the cracked door and peered inside. She was softly snoring on her bed. He stared at her like she might disappear again at any moment. When she shifted, he leapt into the hallway like a frightened cat.

"C'mon, leave her alone. You're being a nutter just standing out here…" he muttered to himself, already faltering.

After a long pause, he had to take just one more look. He still wasn't convinced that she was really back or he wasn't dreaming. She was still fast asleep, but he had to frown. Apparently, she fell out before she could get under the blankets. He wouldn't be a good mate if he didn't remedy that.

Slinking like the Pink Panther, he crept inside and went straight to the blanket drawer. It was an educated guess because obviously he hadn't poked around in there when he missed her terribly…yeah, he'd go with that explanation. Gingerly, he covered her with a thick blanket. She stirred with a soft smile on her lips. He was smiling too. She was home and he was thrilled. Honestly, he had the urge to climb onto the bed beside her and hold her close. But, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Reluctantly, he left her to her dreams. He started to feel bad about his exchange with his fiery ginger companion. She was his best mate and she did have a point. Besides, she was only trying to help him. So, he was going to take her advice. Well, sort of. Certainly not straight away. Rose needed to adjust to their new life and cope with the loss of her family. Then, he'd tell her how he felt. Well, if he let himself. He was rubbish at admitting his feelings, and he was terrified that something would take her away again.

Upon reaching the console room, he found Donna on the seat. She glanced over her shoulder with a dark expression. "Hello."

He went to the console and entered a few things. They were set to drift. Slowly and silently, he went to the doors and opened them. That revealed that they were in the middle of a stunning interstellar cloud. Leaning on the frame, he took a long breath.

"You should get some sleep, Donna."

"I'm not tired. And it's too cold with those bloody doors open. Although, it is beautiful. What is that?"

"That's an interstellar cloud. Well, that's the generic name. It's a mix of plasma, dust, and gas."

She nodded. "It's nice."

"Yeah. I quite like this one. I stop here every so often. Look about. Ponder the universe."

Quietly, she decided to explain some of her enthusiasm for butting in on his relationships. "I have this feeling, Doctor. Like you and Rose are supposed to be together. It's really important for some reason. Besides, you scare me. You're so intense. But, when she's around you smile like a complete idiot. She makes you better because she makes you happy. And that's what you should be. Happy. I'm your best mate and we've had the best of times, but I'm not enough. There's something missing. It's a big hole in your universe. And it's shaped like Rose Tyler. Don't you see that?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "I appreciate you trying to help."

"That's what friends are for. Do you mind if I ask what you're going to do?"

He stared into the cloud with a small smile. "Figure out everything as it comes. Like always. I never have a plan until the last second. More exciting that way. This all is just a lot to take in at the moment."

"It's hard to believe that she's here, isn't it?"

"She was gone for so long. I thought that she wouldn't return, but she did. It's brilliant. I should never have stopped believing in her. Blimey, she's really back, isn't she?"

Donna chuckled. "Sure is, spaceman. Speaking of that, shouldn't you close those doors? She might get cold and wake up."

"I made sure that she has a warm blanket."

"Sorry, but you what?"

He blushed slightly. "Well, I just happened to look in and I noticed that she wasn't covered up. So I…tucked her in a blanket…"

"Aw. _Doctor_."

"What?"

"That's just so…_aw_."

He was utterly confused. "What are you on about?"

"You are the sweetest alien I know. Not that I have any other alien friends. We're usually running in the opposite direction…"

The Doctor paused. "Sweet? Did you just call me sweet?"

"You are. You're adorable with her. She'll swoon when she wakes up and sees that you did that. Don't think that I'm not telling her it was you. She's going to love it."

He adjusted his tie self-consciously. "You think so?"

"I know so. I'm a woman," she smiled at him affectionately. "I think that I'm about ready to get some sleep. You should go to sleep too."

"I'm not tired," he argued.

"Rubbish. Go on. I promise Rose will be here when you wake up. And so will I."

Donna made her grand exit and he took a moment to contemplate. After he shut the TARDIS doors, he got into bed. To his surprise, he actually fell into a restful sleep for the first time in a very long while. It wasn't until the laughter echoed into his room that he woke. He could distinguish two female voices.

"And I thought Camptown Races! So he gets all cross with me and I eventually I get that he needs a shock. And I gave him the shock of his life, all right. I kissed him right on the lips!"

"You didn't!"

"I did! He pulls away, spits out this ugly gas cloud thing, and says that he should to that more often. But he made it perfectly clear that he meant the detox!"

The laughter continued and he smiled to himself. Donna Noble and Rose Tyler. The two of them would be unstoppable. He couldn't imagine life without either one of them.

"Your turn," Donna stated as the women sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

"Once we were in this old warehouse chasing a big thing with huge teeth. I think the Doctor called it a Hoix. Anyway, we're chasing it and he tells me to get a bucket of liquid. I thought that he said 'Get the blue bucket.' So, I get the blue bucket and he's distracting it with this raw meat. I toss the bucket on the thing and nothing happens. He starts yelling at me because he said 'Anything _but _blue.' Can you believe that? Can't just say 'Get the red bucket'? So, it's like a chase scene from Scooby Doo. We're going in and out of doors until I finally get the red one."

Donna cackled. "That sounds like him!"

He appeared in the kitchen. "What are you two laughing about?"

They automatically answered together, "You."

The look on his face made them laugh harder and he didn't dare ask. He found some food and started eating right out of the jar, causing Rose to smile at the fact that he hadn't changed. "Where to, companions?"

They looked at each other and grinned. "Shopping. Lots and lots of shopping."

"Shopping?" he repeated whiningly. "Really?"

"It can be on an alien planet with danger and death lurking about," Donna promised.

"Yeah. That'd be perfect. Shop, save the planet, shop again with the hero discount…" Rose smirked impishly. "What do you say, Doctor?"

He missed that voice. "I say that your wish is my command, but be careful what you wish for, Rose Tyler."

Their eyes locked and Donna stifled a squeal of delight. Maybe their late night talks did some good. The Doctor hummed to himself as he left for the console room, and Rose's heart was still pounding in her chest. She glanced at Donna who merely picked up an apple and took a bite pointedly. Rose knew that she was blushing. "Shut it."

"I didn't say anything!" Donna protested, deciding to toss in a wink.

Rose couldn't take the embarrassment, so she went into her room and selected a jacket for their outing. When she arrived in the console room, the Doctor was still humming and working the controls. She leaned on the console with a sunny smile. "Where are we going?"

"A marketplace on a distant planet about three thousand years from your present."

"Do we have money?"

He searched his pockets and removed a single credit chip. "You and Donna will have to share. And don't max it out."

Rose took it, poking out her tongue. "That's like giving you a cake with edible ball bearings and telling you that you can't eat it all."

"I do love edible ball bearings. Have I mentioned how genius those are?" he smirked in response.

She laughed and he practically melted. It was good to have her home, and she was glad to be there. With some hesitation, Rose wrapped him in an embrace. He was pleasantly surprised and gladly hugged her tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered into his chest.

"For what?"

"Kind of hard to ignore the heavy blanket on me this morning. And it was the first thing Donna said to me."

He chuckled. "That Donna."

"She's something. Absolutely brilliant."

"Oh, one of the most brilliant women in the universe. Very clever. And very determined."

"You don't say? I hadn't noticed."

They chuckled just like they used to. Maybe Donna was right about them, the Doctor reckoned. His thoughts were interrupted when the one and only Donna Noble emerged and ran over to Rose. They talked nonstop about how excited they were to go shopping for once. The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, adjusting to being outnumbered by strong females. When the TARDIS came to a complete stop, he grinned excitedly. It was a new chapter in their lives.


	4. Chapter 4

**Episode Two: The Starfish Ritual**

_Chapter One: Finding Trouble_

"It's gorgeous!" Donna gasped as they stepped out. The sky was golden while the city was dark red, and aliens of all races roamed the market. With all of her might, she whacked the Doctor's arm.

"Ouch! Now what did I do _this _time?" he demanded as he held his throbbing arm.

"Why haven't you taken me here before? I get libraries, Pompeii on Volcano day, giant wasps, smoking cars, a frozen tundra, dingy underground warzones, and a big bug on my back. What does Rose get on her first go? This planet!"

"You got the spa," he pointed out.

She put her finger in his face. "And you got taken over and almost died. I was worried sick when you were gone so long, thank you very much."

"What's the point? You're here now, aren't you?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well, you're showing companion preference."

He stuttered for a moment as Rose grinned in the background. "That's not—I'm not—you said you wanted shopping! Here you are! Go, shop, gossip, whatever women do! I'm going to go look for trouble."

With that, he slinked away and Rose playfully shoved Donna. "Some performance."

She bowed. "Thank you. I did some theatre in school. Well, not really. I was just class drama queen. Did you see him when he got flustered? Ha! You should give it a go next time. He's just too fun to tease."

"I couldn't do that to him. That'd be just _awful_. But seriously, I definitely could. Want to max out his credit?"

Donna took the chip with a grin. "Oh, Rose Tyler…this is the start of a beautiful friendship!"

They stopped at a few tents, discussing what fashions were in or out. After purchasing almost everything from a gentleman alien's inventory, they lugged their bags towards the next street over. "He should have stuck around," Donna grunted under the weight. "We need a man to carry our bags."

"I'd love to see him standing there holding our handbags," Rose giggled at the thought. "We should by girly things for the TARDIS. Scented candles and throw pillows and vases filled with flowers. He'd jump out of his skin."

"Yes! You're good. Devious. I like that. I think that I saw some flowers by an alley when we passed on the other side. Want to go see?"

"I'd love to."

As they traveled along, they got unbelievably close to a seedy passageway. Two, large aliens reached out and grabbed them. They fought back, but the aliens were too strong. Their bags fell to the ground along with the credit chip in Donna's pocket. A vaporous gas filled the air and they both blacked out.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was wandering the city streets. He was pondering Donna's words, though he sensed that she was probably just messing with him. Still, having the two of them together would pose several challenges. Donna was his best mate, and Rose was also his best mate…that he happened to be in love with but wouldn't admit it. How would that dynamic work? While lost in his own thoughts, he heard voices in an alley. He stopped to listen.

"The ritual must begin soon. Once we have all of the humans we need, we can resurrect our fallen brothers. This universe will be ours!"

It was certainly an alien language, and the Doctor grinned. "Never takes me long to find trouble. I have to find Rose and Donna! This is going to be a brilliant time!"

He darted off to find them, but he wasn't aware that it didn't take them long to find trouble as well. When he got to the last vendor he saw them with, he paused to check the street. He couldn't see them anywhere. With a frown, he went up to the gentleman selling clothing.

"Have you seen two human women? One's a ginger and one's a blond."

The alien man thought about it carefully. "There were two women here quite a while ago. They didn't stop talking the entire time they were here."

"Yep. Those are my companions. You're sure you saw them?"

"Well, they bought half of inventory! The blond found the most gorgeous dress. Such a looker that one. You're a lucky man. Bigamy isn't allowed on this planet. Where'd you find a ginger? I'd like one myself."

The Doctor grimaced. "We're not a couple. Which way did they go?"

He motioned. "That way. Good luck finding them. It's a big market and they said they want to max out some bloke's credit."

In a rush, the Doctor started to go, but he came running back. "Sorry, did you say that they wanted to max out my credit?"

"They're probably halfway there by now."

"Wonderful. Now I definitely have to find them…"

Meanwhile, Rose was the first to wake. She noted the restraints on her ankles and wrists, and she tested them to see how strong they were. They were fairly solid, so she focused on finding Donna. She spotted her on a nearby vertical slab of stone, also restrained in a similar manner.

"Donna, can you hear me? Donna!"

She woke with a start. "Oi, my head! What happened?"

"We've been taken."

"That happens a lot," she grumbled. "What do you think they want?"

Looking around, she saw flaming sticks on the wall and an altar. That worried her. "I'm guessing it's not for tea and biscuits. Maybe a ceremony?"

"Great. That sounds wizard…" she paused and nodded her head. "We're not alone."

Rose counted seven other humans strapped to slabs in a peculiar pattern, once again fueling her idea that this must be a ritual or something of the like. However, no one else was talking or moving. They appeared to be asleep. "Why aren't they hearing us?" she asked aloud. "They should be woken up by our voices. We're not being quiet."

"Are they dead?" Donna wondered. "Oi! You lot! What's going on here?"

"They won't answer you," a voice called from somewhere above them. The large alien came into view, looking like a cross between a human and a starfish. "They're in stasis."

"And why aren't we?" Rose questioned, amending quickly, "Not that I'm complaining."

The alien chuckled. "We aren't going to bother with you. We only need one more human to complete the pattern and perform the ritual."

"You called it," Donna sighed unhappily. "All these aliens and their cults."

"Not a cult," the alien sounded rather offended. "Our brothers died from a horrific outbreak of a virus. We stored their consciousness and plan to reassign their bodies. Our race is part humanoid and part asteroidea."

Donna and Rose exchanged looks. "What's that? Looks to me like you're a sea star."

"I thought that very thing!" Rose exclaimed excitedly. "It's like we were separated at birth or something."

"I know, right? It's wonderful!" Donna agreed elatedly.

"Enough!" the alien roared.

"We were just talking," Rose defended.

"Yeah. It's not like we were calling you ugly or insulting your fashion sense."

"But seriously, what's with that getup, mate?"

Donna laughed at the horrible outfit on the star-alien. "It's like he's a schoolmarm."

"I know! I had a professor that looked like that once."

It rubbed its head at the noise. "Never taking women ever again."

"Oi!" Donna snapped. "Sexist!"

The alien merely shrugged. "It's not sexist if it's true. You two won't stop rattling on. If you'll excuse me, I have to go—"

"Tell us about the ritual," Rose interrupted. "We have a right to know what you'll do to us. If you don't explain it, me and my friend will keep talking and giggling for hours. And loud enough for you to hear wherever you go."

Its eyes widened. "You can't talk nonstop for that long."

"Watch us, sunshine!" Donna challenged, starting the giggle. Rose joined in.

"Okay, okay! We're going to take your bodies and tear them into nothing but organic matter. Then, we'll mix it with asteroidea matter and grow the new vessels devoid of thought. The consciousness will be transferred and we'll take over the universe."

Rose frowned at the idea, deciding to distract him as long as possible so the Doctor had time to figure out what happened. "You didn't explain the asteroidea part. What's that?"

"It's the class that starfish belong to!"

"How'd you become part starfish? Don't you need water?" Rose pushed, signaling Donna with her eyes to jump in.

"Yeah, how's that work? Were you just average chaps going scuba diving, things get freaky under the sea, and suddenly you've made a baby?"

"No, that's not even possible!" the alien hissed angrily.

Rose grinned. "So, how'd it happen, then?"

"Well, it's a long story and I have things to do."

"C'mon," Donna insisted. "Can't you tell the story? We want to hear all about it. In fact, we want to hear the entire history of your race because…um…because…"

"Because you're the most superior race in the universe," Rose provided.

The alien beamed. "If you put it like that, I _guess_ I can tell you some things…"

After searching for almost an hour, the Doctor was getting very worried. He combed the marketplace four times until the sunlight caught the corner of something on the ground. His trainers came to a halt and he bent down to retrieve the item.

"My credit chip," he murmured in disbelief. Now he knew that the ladies were taken. He went through the bags and confirmed that the clothes had to belong to his companions. His nose caught a whiff of something lingering in the air. "Hang on, I know that smell."

Following it into the alley, he took a deep breath and his fears were a reality. That gas would easily incapacitate humans. It didn't take his superior Time Lord intellect to put two and two together. The alien voice he heard said that they needed humans. They probably locked onto Rose and Donna the second they arrived. The ritual would be starting soon, according to the voice, and for all he knew his human mates completed their requirements.

"I have to find them," he stated to no one in particular, attempting to think of a way to get to them. The city was huge and he didn't know where to start.

Donna and Rose didn't have any more questions to ask. The alien was done talking and stormed out, warning them that their time was almost up. They noticed the staircase leading to a door as the alien left, and the lack of windows made them assume that they were in a basement somewhere.

"How is he going to find us?" Donna grunted. "Big city, no idea where we are, no idea if he even knows we're missing, and my wrists are chaffing in this thing!"

Rose tried again to free herself, but it was unsuccessful. Donna had a point. There was no way for the Doctor to find them, and that was in the hopes that he figured out they were taken. They needed a way to contact him, and that's when it hit her.

"Donna, do you know how to send messages using his psychic paper?"

"No, but I know that can work. Brilliant idea! How do we do it? Maybe think really hard?"

"It's worth a try. If we think about contacting him like that at the same time, maybe it'll work."

"Okay…what message should we send?"

"Something short and simple that'll help him find us…" Rose trailed off thoughtfully.

Donna managed to snap her fingers. "Underground."

"That defines it," Rose agreed, sweeping their surroundings with her eyes. "Let's add _we're _to that. We're underground. He should know it's us then."

"All right. Sounds like a plan. Want to say it out loud at the same time so we're in sync?"

"On a count of three?" she offered as Donna nodded in agreement. "One…two…three!"

As the Doctor was retracing his steps to the alley where he heard the voices, something told him to check his psychic paper. He opened it as a message appeared in girly handwriting.

"We're underground?" he said confusedly. "Oh…those two are geniuses!" he happily kissed his psychic paper and ran into a nearby business, shoving a man out of his way to use the computer. "Sorry, mate. Emergency."

He searched the mainframe for the blueprints of the city and narrowed his search to the buildings near the marketplace. Almost every building had a cellar and there was a sewer system. It would have been helpful if they knew more than they sent, but he knew that they probably were as in the dark as he was. Grimacing, he was getting nowhere fast.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Two: You call this progress?_

In the cellar, Rose and Donna were very bored. There was nothing to and the restraints were scraping their skin. Donna sighed sadly. "Your first time back and we get nabbed."

"I'm not surprised, actually. This happens all the time. I'd be more shocked if things went smoothly…" she chuckled lightheartedly.

"How many times were you taken when you ran with the Doctor?"

Rose thought carefully. "Counting or not counting the regeneration before this one?"

"Just this one."

"Does being possessed by someone else count?"

"Um…let's say no."

"Well, how about getting your consciousness taken?"

Donna had to consider it. "Let's say physical kidnapping only."

"Purposely or not purposely?"

"Whatever you'd like."

"Well, the Sycorax took the TARDIS with me in it on Christmas, some monks put me in a room with a werewolf, a few giant clock things snatched me, a few people from a sanctuary base knocked me out and dragged me onto a rocket, and there was this one time in Rome when I was turned into a statue and taken away…"

Donna whistled. "And that's just this Doctor?"

"Yep. How about you?"

"Not as much as you, that's for sure."

She frowned. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, but I can add this adventure to my list."

The ladies heard a noise and looked around to find the source. The strange race was dragging an incapacitated human to a vertical slab across the room. The creatures all looked the same to them, but when one spoke they knew that it was the one from before. "Now that we have ten humanoids, the process can begin!"  
More aliens arrived and stood in the same odd pattern, which resembled two stars overlapping. They all began to chant. Donna grinned, deciding to stall them again. "Sounds like some sort of church hymn. Amazing grace…"

"How sweet the sound," Rose picked up, singing loudly.

"That saved a wretch…"

"Like me!" they finished together.

"Stop that!" the alien hissed. "We need to focus, here!"

"Really?" Donna questioned. "Well, sorry. We'll be quiet and just let ourselves die. I don't think so, sea urchins!"

"Sea urchins," Rose chuckled. "That's a good one."

Donna looked very happy with herself. "I know. Just came to me."

The alien stepped out of formation. "Shut it! We can just knock you out. So be quiet or you're asleep for eternity!"

They both grew silent. The aliens got back into formation and started to chant. The companions were running out of time, so Rose went back to working on the restraints. At first, she thought that it was stone, but she started to think otherwise. Those things were part starfish, so maybe the restraints were like the dried starfish they sell to tourists. Carefully, and with some reluctance, she started to nibble on the material with her teeth. The sharp cutting motion was able to do the trick. It started to crumble, so she kept biting.

Donna was worried that they'd hear or see what Rose was up to, so she provided cover. "I once was lost, but now I'm found!" she continued the hymn, drawing the attention right to her.

Rose freed her hand and easily used her fingernails to free the other one. When the aliens started to look her way, she simply held up her hands like she was still confined. Donna hit an awful note which luckily made them shift their gaze. Rose clawed the other restraints off her feet and silently stepped onto the floor, darting behind the slap to find a weapon.

"T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far, and Grace will lead us home…" Donna was getting nervous. Rose was out, but it was only a matter of time. She wasn't able to remember any other lyrics off the top of her head.

The aliens glanced at the empty slab and stopped chanting. They whispered urgently and moved in on Donna. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know," Donna shrugged. "Maybe she's off to the loo."

"She was restrained!" the alien growled venomously. "Clearly, she's trying to escape and you're helping her."

"Escape? That can't be it. Why would she want to leave such a lovely place? It's so homey. Do you mind if I call my estate agent? I might want to buy some of this property. Move in. Settle down. What's the going price? C'mon, don't be shy. Give me a number."

Rose smiled at Donna's ability to ramble. Perhaps she had learned it from the Doctor. As she cautiously crawled behind the various slabs, she found a control panel of sorts. She was trying to figure it out when the aliens called to her.

"Human girl! If you want your friend to live, you will stop now!"

"Don't listen to them!" Donna argued as they held a knife to her throat. "They'll just kill us anyway!"

Her heart was racing. She couldn't let Donna die, but they'd die anyway if she didn't figure out a plan. The Doctor would be searching for a needle in a haystack, she knew. Hoping that he would get there in time wasn't a plan. She started to formulate a plot of her own, though she didn't like what it would entail.

The Doctor was still at the computer. He had narrowed his search even further to only show buildings near the two suspicious alleys. After combing through countless documents, it just so happened that two, large structures shared a joint cellar beneath the streets. To make that even better, the cellar connected the two points. "Allons-y! It's time for a rescue!"

He collected their bags, which he had dragged around with him all afternoon, and took off through the streets. His trainers screeched to a halt. The street was filled with music and marching aliens. With a huff, he went up to the nearest person.

"What's all this?"

The alien nodded to it. "Market Day Parade. First annual. Smashing, isn't it?"

"Right, whatever you say. I need to get down this street."

"Can't do it. They've shut it down for now. Best chance you've got is to wait for it to pass."

He studied it carefully. "How many people are in this thing?"

"Couple hundred. And about fifty floats. Probably will take thirty minutes to get by."

"I don't have thirty minutes. I have to get down there. Are there back streets? Anything?"

"All shut down for the show. Sorry, mate. Other than the rooftops, there's no way to the…" the alien stopped and glanced around for the Doctor. It shrugged. "Okay then."

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the ladder of a fire escape. It came loose and extended to the ground. He tied the bags around him with a jumper and quickly scaled the escape. Once he was on the roof, he went running and leapt across to another building. It wasn't the usual method of travel, but it was doing the trick.

He reached the final rooftop and searched for a fire escape. The building didn't have one. He searched for anything to climb down, but there was literally nothing. Reluctantly, he searched for something to break his fall. A newsagents shop with an awning was below. It wasn't too far of a jump, so with a quick motion he leapt for it. The awning caught him and he grimaced as he bounced to the pavement. He dusted himself off and darted for the cellar.

Back in the cellar, Donna decided to spit on the alien closest to her. It recoiled in disgust, buying Rose a few extra seconds with the console. She hit a button that released all of the restraints and she took one of the flaming sticks from the wall. Donna knocked the aliens down and ran for the steps, but Rose didn't follow. "Rose!"

"There are eight people here that need saving. If we go now, there's no telling what'll happen to them. They can't run for themselves. Don't worry about me. Nothing will happen yet. These things need ten people for the ritual. Go get the Doctor. I'll keep them busy."

"He'll kill me for leaving you!" Donna hissed. "He will _so_ kill me!"

Rose grinned. "Tell him to take that up with me, yeah?" she swung at the aliens as they approached her. "Get moving, mate!"

Donna made a sound in protest but darted through the door, casting a last look at Rose as she threatened the aliens with fire. She escaped into what seemed to be an average shop, and instead of jumping for joy she had to scowl. There were at least fifteen aliens waiting on her and they were armed. She rolled her eyes as she pressed her back to the wall.

"Right because _nothing _can ever go smoothly when you run with the Doctor!"

"Did someone say my name?" the Doctor grinned as he burst through the front door.

Donna exhaled in relief. "There you are! What the hell took so long?"

"Do you know how many places are underground? Not to mention the fact that there's a parade blocking the street. I had to take the rooftops to get here. And that's not as easy or fun as it sounds. Well, maybe a little fun. I had to jump onto a newsagents shop. Bounced right off and hit the pavement."

The aliens started to approach him menacingly. He didn't flinch. Instead, he gave them a wave and smiled. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Seems you have kidnapped my best mates. That's not a good place to be. I'm very cross with all of you. You have one chance to leave peacefully or I have no choice…"

When the aliens kept moving, they had their answer. Donna used the time he bought her to pick up a sword-like weapon from behind a desk. She let out a war cry and charged, hacking off limbs left and right.

"Don't! No, really don't!" the Doctor warned her as she plowed through to his side. She dropped the weapon as all of the aliens were in piles of limbs and bodies. "Did you absolutely have to do that, Donna?"

"It worked, didn't it? I feel brilliant. Like that warrior woman."

"Joan of Arc?"

"Well, that would be right too, but I meant Xena."

He nodded slowly. "Xena…right. But you really, really shouldn't have done that."

"Why not?" she frowned.

Suddenly, new aliens began to sprout from the severed body parts. The Doctor put a hand on his forehead and sighed heavily. "Amputating limps only grows new aliens. Exact replicas of the original."

"Oh," she chuckled nervously. "Right. Starfish do that. They're part starfish. That'd make sense. Didn't think of that. But, we have made progress here. They're not fully formed yet, which is good, and I'm free."

He thought of her words and glanced around in a panic. "Wait, where's Rose?"

"That. Yes. Um…she asked me to leave her down there."

"_You call this progress_?!"

"It's better than nothing, though."

"Hardly!"

The aliens were getting closer and wielding their weapons. Donna and the Doctor were pushed into a corner. She looked to the Time Lord hopefully. "Tell me you can kill them or something."

"I can't kill them."

She groaned. "Well this is just perfect. I escape death down there to be killed up here. At least I'll die in the sunshine!"

He thrust their shopping bags into Donna's hands and furiously took off his coat. She made a sound in protest when he tossed it over her face. Her hand yanked it down and her eyes narrowed at him. "What are you doing? Getting naked?"

"I said that I can't kill them."

"You think that I didn't hear you?!"

He rolled his eyes. "_But_ I might be able to do something. I have to have it…"

Dramatically, he produced an entire oil can from his suit coat and threw the oil onto the nearest aliens. They stopped in their tracks and he held up the can with a grin. Donna pointed at it. "You carry oil?"

"Well, you never know when the TARDIS needs a little greasing up. They breathe oxygen through the pores. Clog the pores and they can't get air. They'll adjust in a minute, so we have to get moving. Oh, that reminds me, _you left Rose?!_"

Donna winced at his voice. "She said to take it up with her."

"Oh I will. Right now."

He stormed towards the cellar and she followed him. With a clang, he threw open the door and stormed into the room. Donna was right behind him and gasped at the sight. Rose was tied to the altar with heavy ropes. She looked up with an embarrassed expression.

"Well, hello…" she smiled.

"What happened to you?" Donna wondered.

She attempted to shrug. "Things might have gotten a little out of control. Just a bit."

"Just a bit," the Doctor agreed playfully as he moved to untie her, completely relieved to see her in one piece.

Before he could get any closer, the aliens appeared between them. They held weapons at the ready and refused to let the Doctor pass.

"This human is the first to die and you will watch!"


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Three: Companion Preference_

"Greetings, asteroidanoids. Long time no see. I thought you all had died off by now," the Doctor grinned arrogantly.

"What do you know of us?" they asked in unison.

"Well, I know enough. You were something in your day. Vicious warriors. And oddly adorable. Like little fluffy stars. Isn't that ironic? Cute killing machines. Anyway, I saw the aftermath of your Hundred Year War. You didn't leave a speck of matter anywhere. Fortunately, or tragically for you lot, your species is dying off. A nasty virus. Pollutants in the air. You can't filter it with your pores. These bodies just weren't designed for good ventilation. So, let me ask you a question, what ritual is this? Why do you need humans?"

"We're creating new bodies to restore the consciousness and reclaim the universe," they responded.

He laughed uncontrollably. "I see! You're taking the humans and mixing them with your other bits. Do you really think that'll work? If it's the same kind of body as before, won't it have the same weaknesses? Or are you just going to keep doing this for the rest of time?"

The aliens exchanged looks and couldn't come up with an answer.

"That is kind of thick," Donna commented. "What's the phrase about insanity?"

"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?" Rose offered.

"Silence!" the aliens commanded. "We will do as we please."

"Actually," the Doctor said as he edged closer. "It's against the law to use humans as the base for your biological recipes. Also, you took two people that are very dear to me. One's strapped to an altar right now. I'll tell you what. You release the humans and leave this planet, or I'll have to stop you. And we wouldn't want that."

There were whispers amongst them. "We will not do as you wish."

"You shouldn't have said that," Donna warned. "He's not fun when he's angry."

"Oh, all right. I probably couldn't stop you if you tried. Before I leave you alone, can I at least say goodbye to Rose?" he asked them in a serious tone. "I'll even hand over the other one. But only after I say my farewells."

"Oi!" Donna snapped. "The other one? Now this really is companion preference!"

More whispers echoed and one took a hold of Donna. "Make the goodbye short."

The Doctor went to the altar and leaned into Rose's ear. "Please tell me that you have a bottle of perfume in your pocket."

She gave him a quizzical look. "Yeah. The right pocket. Why—"

Her voice stopped as his hand slid into the pocket and retrieved the small bottle. He gave her a wink and turned about, spraying the air with the fragrance. The aliens wheezed and fell to their knees. He gave it a few more pumps just to be sure. The alien let go of Donna and collapsed with the others.

"Rose's perfume. Contains chemicals that won't harm humans, but they happen to be one of the pollutants in the airborne virus that killed your race. And it smells like a garden on a summer day. Lovely way to die, if you ask me. Save us some time and tell the others to go home while you still can. There's plenty here to kill you all," the Doctor warned.

As the alien told its friends to run for their lives, he freed Rose and helped her down. He slid the bottle back into her pocket and she smiled. "See you found us, Doctor."

"Your message led me here. Brilliant thinking."

She embraced him and Donna suppressed the urge to make an _aww _sound. He pulled back and frowned at his companion. "What were you thinking sending Donna off?"

"What were you thinking offering me up, spaceman?" Donna growled with a huff.

He groaned. "I wasn't going to! It was to get the perfume! Blimey, you know that I wasn't serious. You just like making trouble. Let Rose answer the question."

"There are eight humans in stasis down here," she replied amusedly. "I couldn't leave them. What if we left and they killed them or moved them? Besides, they needed ten of us. They weren't going to make a move until they had another body. If Donna left, they'd only have nine."

He pouted. "Then why did they tie you to an altar? Looks like they were moving ahead just fine."

"Well, funny story actually. They managed to trip me and grab me while I was on the ground. Since I chewed through the restraints before, they got creative with the ropes. And I might have been on the altar because I upset them when I called them names…enough to want me dead first."

"What names?" he wondered aloud.

"Oh you know…mutant jellyfish, alien sea urchins—Donna gave me that one, ugly lobsters…"

He chuckled. "I have missed you, Rose Tyler."

"And how'd you know about my perfume, by the way?" she wondered as they stepped over the dying aliens, hand in hand.

"Well, I remembered that you sometimes had perfume on your person. That's all."

"What if I didn't carry it today or at all anymore? That's what you based your plan on."

He blushed slightly. "I could tell that you're still wearing the same one, so I assumed you'd still have it."

Donna cackled at his expression. "Your face, Doctor! _Garden on a summer day_," she quoted, laughing again at the glow of his cheeks. "He's red as a tomato!"

He quickly changed the subject. "The other humans are in stasis and need to be woken up. Now, if I can find a control panel—"

Rose dragged him to it. "Like this one? Used it to open the restraints."

"Genius. You are an absolute genius. Press this, turn that, and…" he waited and heard the unmistakably sounds of humans waking. "The stasis has been broken!"

"It's all right, everyone. You're fine. Nothing to see here. Just go up those steps and out the door," Donna told them as she ushered a few people towards the steps. The eight individuals taken wandered up the stairs in confusion and the three travelers followed.

Once they got onto the street, Donna passed the bags back to the Doctor. They stood and watched the parade for a bit, just until they had a path back to the TARDIS. The women jabbered the entire way there about having a fashion show once they got back. All he could do was smile at them and think about how glad he was everything worked out. Before he sent them off to have their fun, he embraced them both tightly.

"Never a dull moment," Donna commented as she tried on a new dress in Rose's room. "You should have seen him when he saw that you weren't with me."

"Really?" Rose called from the wardrobe room, also trying on her new outfits.

"He was furious with me. Not to mention passing me off to get to you. And a hand in your pocket? That bit about your perfume? Tell me you see it."

Rose smiled to herself. "No idea what you're talking about. What do you think of this one? I don't know if it's my shade."

She walked into her room and Donna gasped. It was simply stunning. That's when she got a wicked idea. "I don't know. How about another opinion? Doctor! Doctor!"

He came running and popped his head in the room. "What is it?" he stopped in his tracks when he saw Rose.

"Do you like this one?" Donna asked. "I think it works, but she wasn't sure."

"Right. Well. I think it's…" he tried to think of a word that didn't make him sound enthralled. It didn't work. "Beautiful."

Rose flustered, joking lightly. "So getting kidnapped and almost killed was worth it?"

"Yes. Absolutely," he answered, mentally hitting himself for being so quick about it. "I have TARDIS things to do. Things for the TARDIS on the TARDIS to keep the TARDIS, you know—"

"Being a TARDIS?" Donna provided. He glared and emphatically walked away. She was giddy with his reaction. "Rose…c'mon…"

She rolled her eyes. "Knock it off, Donna. You can't force these things."

"Oh, I understand. You love him, he loves you. Yeah, that's really hard. So difficult. Clearly so much in your way. So many obstacles. Putting you two together would _have_ to be forced. No sexual tension. No romantic feelings. No chemistry. Just nothing. Complete nothingness."

"Donna."

"_Rose_," she groaned. "You do know that we could have died today. We could have been separated from that man forever. Do you really want to put this off? You said it yourself. You get kidnapped all the time. It's how it is. What if next time doesn't work out? Surely you didn't travel across universes to be friends."

She looked down at her hands. "You're right. I didn't."

"See? Ugh, you kids just need a nudge. That's all. A little nudge from your friend, Donna. So, _nudge. Nudge. _For God's sakes, bloody _nudge_! I can't live like this! It's a like a romantic drama in my own home!"

Rose laughed. "Relax. I plan to talk to him, but I want to wait. What if bounding into it only makes him reject me?"

"He won't and especially not in that dress. And if you say you want him to make the first move, I wouldn't hold my breath. It's all on you if you want it to happen in your lifetime."

"You really think so?"

"Trust me. I know it."

Rose studied her friend. "You've talked to him."

"Maybe."

"What'd he say?"

"Go ask him. Now's a good time, don't you think? Before we're kidnapped by sea star aliens again and all that."

Although she groaned, Rose got up and left the room. When she wandered into the console room, she found the Doctor working on something. She took a deep breath and got things going. "What you doing?"

"Oh, recalibrating the extrapolator to…" he swallowed when he looked at her in that outfit. "Just stuff. I'm doing stuff. What brings you here?"

She shrugged and sat on the seat calmly. "We haven't really talked since I got back."

"Talked, right. What would you like to talk about?"

"Well, today got me thinking. I'm not back for a full day before my life is on the line. Not that there's a problem. I love it. The travel and the danger. But still. You know if things went differently…" she paused hesitantly. "We might have split up again."

His chest tightened at the idea. "But, it didn't. Everything worked out."

"This time. You once told me not to say that they never ever would split us up. You were right. It happened. I don't think that I can go through that again. Not without us settling something first."

"Settling what?"

"What happened on Bad Wolf Bay."

He knew this moment would come, but he hoped that she'd wait a little longer. Finally, he stopped fidgeting and faced her, leaning on the console. "What about it?"

"The last thing you said to me…do you remember what it was?"

His throat wanted to laugh at that. Of course he remembered. It was all he remembered. Instead, he kept a serious expression. "I do."

"What was it?" she inquired, unable to hide the emotion in her voice.

"I said Rose Tyler."

She wanted to slap him for stopping the sentence all over again. "Right…but you never got to finish what you were saying."

"I didn't. I ran out of time."

Her head nodded idly and her eyes locked on his. "How was that sentence going to end?"

The Doctor set his jaw. "Does it need saying?"

She glared intensely. "I could so strangle you sometimes!"  
"What? What'd I do?"

"You won't finish that sentence. I'm starting to think that you never will. Do you know what that's like? I told you everything and I can't take that back. You know how I feel. No secrets there. But you get to keep it all under wraps. I can hope that you'd say what I want to hear. I can also take that sentence in a million different directions. How do you expect me to know for sure?"

"Because you should know," he argued.

"I won't believe it unless I hear it, Doctor. I never thought that we'd get to have this conversation again. Now you have a second chance. Now we have a second chance. Are you going to take it or not?"

He averted his eyes and felt his chest pounding. His tongue was tied in knots and he couldn't move. For almost a minute, they stood there. He wouldn't look at her and she scowled with disappointment. "Yeah. All right. Maybe you didn't have to finish that sentence. This is a good enough answer on its own."

Just when Rose was about to storm out of the room and yell at Donna for pushing her into talking to him, his quiet voice stopped her. "Rose Tyler, I love you."

Her hands went to her mouth and her eyes watered, but the Doctor was still frozen in place. In a way, he felt like a weight had been lifted. In another, he was petrified. His mind was already running off to the future and how horribly things could end. Rose, on the other hand, was more concerned about the present moment. She slowly walked over to him and smoothed the front of his suit.

"I love you, Doctor. That hasn't changed and it never will."

"Rose," he managed to start. "You've just lost your family. You've just gotten back. Maybe we shouldn't rush into things. Give it some time. Be mates. See how it goes."

"You are my family. And yeah, I just got back. Back home. I don't want to be mates. I didn't spend years looking for you so we could eat chips and talk about the weather. Don't you want us to be more than that?"

He swallowed apprehensively. "It isn't about what I want. We need to be logical. What if—"

"That's not what I asked you," she stopped him. "I didn't ask what the right course of action is or how the future _might_ turn out. Just look at this. I wasn't supposed to see you again, and here I am. You can't know how things will go. Answer me. What do you want?"

"I want…" he paused. Why did it have to be so hard? "I want us and…" he mimicked the crossed fingers that Donna used for emphasis before. "Togetherness."

"So you do want more than just mates?"

He held up his fingers pointedly. "What else does this mean?"

She smiled and pulled him towards her, kissing him with all of her might. He kissed back enthusiastically, forgetting all worries about anything in the future. The kiss ended after a long while, and he kept his arms around her waist.

"Donna!" he shouted. "Donna Noble!"

Donna silently crept from her place hiding in the hallway. He nodded to his position with Rose. She screeched excitedly, although they all knew that she was eavesdropping from the second Rose walked into the console room. She literally jumped up and down. "Finally, spaceman! About time to see that smile on your face!"

"So you'll stop nagging me?" the Doctor asked hopefully, causing Rose to laugh and Donna to glare.

"Yes. I'll stop nagging. Congratulations and celebrations, my friends. I won't wait up."

She left them alone and Rose hugged the Doctor close. "I'm so glad that I'm here with you. There's nowhere I'd rather be."

"Quite right too, Rose Tyler. Our adventures are just beginning."

"Together," she added for emphasis.

He gave her a daft grin. "Together."

"About bloody time, spaceman."

"Not you too…" he groaned as Rose giggled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Episode Three: The Cybermen Return  
**_Chapter One: Halloween Dates _

_(A complete rewrite of "The New Doctor")__  
(Rating increase to T)_

"It's your turn to pick," Rose informed Donna as they sat together in the console room.

Several weeks had passed since the Doctor and Rose finally got together. That afternoon, the Doctor was in the library catching up on his trashy science fiction novels while the girls decided where to go. So far, they had gone to various interesting planets, getting into trouble and saving the world. Rose had officially moved into the Doctor's room, and Donna loved seeing everyone so cheerful. Even the TARDIS hummed peacefully at her happy travelers.

"How about we take a break and do something festive? Like a special occasion," Donna suggested, excitedly clapping her hands. "Oh! Like a holiday!"

"We could catch Christmas in London. That's always interesting."

She grimaced. "Not a fan of Christmas. No, I've got it! Halloween!"

"Like a costume party?" Rose giggled.

"Yes! But let's go to an older one like the 1980s. Costumes nowadays can be a bit rubbish. We should dress up in coordinating outfits!"

"I don't know if the Doctor will go for that."

Donna elbowed her playfully. "He'll do anything if you ask. Especially if you use your womanly wiles."

She blushed. "Belt up."

"These walls aren't soundproof, you know. And I'm not deaf."

"Donna!"

"Just saying, mate! He'll do it. The only bad thing about this idea is that I won't have a date. You two can go together and I'll just be the person awkwardly tagging along. I wish I knew some bloke that could go with me. Well, someone that knows about time machines and aliens."

That gave Rose an idea. "Don't worry about that. Let's come up with our costumes."

They talked and came up with the perfect entourage. Afterwards, Rose went into the library and asked the Doctor to go with them in costume. Surprisingly, the Doctor thought that it was a brilliant idea and could be great fun. He took Donna to pick up their outfits while Rose made a phone call to a friend about being Donna's date.

"I don't know if this costume suits me," the Doctor grumbled as he adjusted his outfit and entered the course Rose gave him. "Does it make me look ridiculous?"

"Not at all. You look fantastic. Very dashing," Rose's voice assured him from the hallway. She made a grand entrance and grinned at him. "It's my nemesis! What will I do?"

The Doctor slid the mask onto his face and struck a superhero pose, playing along with the game. He theatrically cleared his throat and declared, "I'm Batman! Who is that? Could it be my enemy, Catwoman?"

Rose held up her hands like paws, holding the pose before fixing the ear headband. She went over to him and draped her arms around his neck. "Meow. Do you still not care for cats?"

"Well, if they all looked like this, I suppose that I'd be quite the cat person."

"And I'd be quite the bat person."

After sharing a laugh, they began to kiss quite passionately. Donna's voice stopped them suddenly. "Ahem," she cleared her throat with a mock glare. "You're snogging the enemy, Batman. I am very disappointed in you."

"C'mon, Batgirl," he defended with a gesture. "She's in a skin tight outfit with an impressive tail. I can't be at fault for that."

Donna joined them in her Batgirl outfit, dramatically ruffling her cape. "Shall we go party like it's 1983?"

"Not yet," Rose replied with a mischievous grin. "We have to make a stop first."

She frowned. "A stop where?"

There was a knock on the door and it suddenly flew open. "Holy time machine, Batman!"

Rose laughed, the Doctor put his face in his hands, and Donna shrieked in delight. "Is that who I think it is?"

"I made a phone call," Rose explained. "Our costumes wouldn't be complete without Robin, and you needed a date anyway. He gave me his number last time we saw him."

Slowly, he wandered over in his way too tight costume and slid the mask from his eyes. "Captain Jack Harkness as Robin, also known as _Dick Grasyon_."

"How fitting," the Doctor deadpanned, breaking out into a grin afterwards. "Hello, Jack."

"Doctor, Rose. And hello Donna. Do you mind if I take you to the party?" he offered her his hand and she took it with another shriek. "I'll take that as a yes."

"I'm so excited! This is going to be brilliant!" Donna laughed with ideas of getting drunk and coming onto the handsome man in a bright yellow cape.

"Look at you all," Jack smirked suggestively. "The Doctor's in tights, Donna's in tights, and Rose is in…that…" he eyed her carefully and winked.

"Stop that," the Doctor barked. "Quit undressing her with your eyes."

"I don't have to! So little is left to the imagination."

Donna gestured to her companions. "You do know that they're a couple, right? He's going to knock you to the floor if you're not careful. Or try to."

Jack looked surprised. "Rose, you didn't mention that you and the Doctor were together."

"She didn't?" the Doctor replied with a look in her direction.

"Short conversation," she defended. "By the way, we're together now, Jack."

"I got that," he chuckled. "I have to be back by tomorrow night. Ianto wants me to take him out for drinks."

The Doctor entered a few things and pulled the lever. "You and him, huh?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. Donna wasn't happy to hear that and he didn't seem to notice. "Doctor, can you say—"

"If it's what I think you're thinking, the answer is no."

"Come on. Once. For me. Your sidekick."

He sighed, relenting. "To the bat-pole, Robin!"

"Now it's a party!" Jack cheered. "If there's a pole, can we—"

"_No_."

"I'd like to see that," Donna commented. She figured that she might as well enjoy the show while she could if Jack didn't go her way.

"I would love to see that. No, I'd _pay _to see that," Rose agreed.

The Doctor scowled. "There won't be a pole."

"We'll find one. Don't worry. The night is young," Jack promised as the ladies giggled at the Doctor's unhappy expression.

They arrived in 1983 to visit a huge Halloween party in London. It was being held by a rich gentleman for the entire community. Though it was invite only, they had their invite in the form of psychic paper. The heroes assembled and marched up the drive to the estate, and Batman showed the front guard their invite. He let them inside and Donna excitedly babbled. "I can't believe we're doing this! I've always wanted to dress up in a group and just get mental on Halloween!"

"Holy innuendo, Batman! They have a pole!" Jack pointed to a pillar in the middle of the room.

"Are you going to say that all night?" he grumbled. "That's not a pole. It's a structural support of the house. Pole dancing in the home didn't become popular until the mid-2000s. Before then, poles were only found in gentleman's clubs."

Rose folded her arms with a little huff. "You know an awful lot about pole dancing, Doctor."

"I know an awful lot about everything."

Jack headed for the pillar at top speed. "Someone dance with me! I didn't tag along to be boring!"

The Doctor refused, Donna wasn't inebriated yet, so Rose was the brave soul that sauntered over to him. Music was blaring and the Doctor tugged on his neck line at the sight of leather-clad Rose dancing on the pillar. Donna's mouth was dry at the sight of Jack. The partiers were too drunk or high to care about the super hero and villain getting funky on the structural supports, but the Doctor had other ideas. He grabbed Rose by the hand and whispered in her ear about finding a quiet spot, taking off moments later. Jack decided to twirl Donna around the room until the couple came back.

"Doctor," Rose whispered amusedly as they ran down the steps to the cellar. "What if someone finds us down here?"

He looked around at the rows and rows of wine bottles and grinned. "We're alone and I highly doubt tonight is the night for fine vintages."

She backed him into the wall and tossed his mask to the floor, making quick work of undoing his cape and kissing every inch of exposed skin. He couldn't keep his hands to himself, and his fingers accidentally undid the tail pinned to her bottom. Just as things were heating up, they heard a bottle crash to the floor. They stopped and exchanged curious looks.

Meanwhile, Jack and Donna were dancing around the room upstairs. He wanted the full story on how the time travelers finally admitted their feelings.

"So, what, they were proactive for once? Well, I guess I could believe that. The Doctor _is_ dressed up like Batman tonight…" he chuckled, dipping Donna dramatically.

"Well, no. Not exactly. I had to push the issue."

He looked very impressed by that. "You did, huh? Did you lock them in a room and tell them to get it on or they couldn't leave?"

"That would have worked quite well. I'll have to remember that in case they ever have a big row. Actually, I only talked to them. Or shouted at them. Whatever. It was Rose that took the first step."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. I'm just glad he wasn't an idiot and turned her down. If he did, I would have gone for it. You have to admit that a gal in leather is very classy."

Donna had to ask. "What are you, mate?"

"What?"

"You know, I mean…let's say there's a football team. One side is called the Birmingham Beavers and the other is called the Cardiff Cockerels. Which side do you play on?"

He winked. "I'm a free agent, baby."

She laughed as he spun her around and theatrically brought her back to his chest. Back in the wine cellar, the bottles continued to rattle and crash. The smell of red wine was thick in the air, but they couldn't tell where any of it was coming from. It was a large cellar, so it could be any of the aisles. Rose still had her arms around the Doctor, but he was looking behind him inquisitively.

"Someone joined our private party," he murmured suspiciously. "And the door to house didn't open."

Another bottle crashed and Rose frowned. "Who do you think it is? Another couple sneaking off for some fun?"

"Only one way to find out," he whispered as he edged to the closest row of racks.

She followed him and they peered around the corner. There wasn't anything in that section. He took her hand and they crept silently down the aisle, searching for any evidence of other people. Once they got to the end, they took a turn and were met with broken glass and spilled wine. The Doctor crouched beside it and put his brainy specs onto his nose.

"Well, this is very interesting."

"What?" Rose asked as she joined him.

He put a finger into the liquid and tasted it. "1920 Chateau Cheval Blanc, St Emilion."

"And what's interesting about that?"

"It's a _very_ good year."

She scowled as more bottles fell somewhere nearby. "Anything helpful to the situation?"

"The pattern of the glass fragments indicates that it was dropped from quite a height. Either our person is incredibly tall or the breaking of wine bottles is an accident."

Together, they resumed walking through the cellar. The noise seemed to be getting louder and louder. When they were almost on top of it, they stayed back and hid behind one of the aisles. Peeking around the corner, the Doctor swiftly moved back to his position beside Rose.

"Well? Did you see who it was?" she whispered.

He nodded. "Yep."

"Is it another couple?"

"No…not another couple. Take a look for yourself."

Cautiously, she leaned across his chest and leapt backwards in horror. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I'm not even sure what to call it. But I think that we can agree what it reminds us of…"

They looked at each other, saying in unison. "Cybermen."


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Two: Holy Marmalade, Batman!_

It was a large, rug-like creature with a golden face. The shape resembled that of a Cyberman, but it was on all fours and moving about like a dog. Before they could get a better look, it disappeared through a pair of cellar doors. "Well, that's comforting," Rose sarcastically commented. "Maybe it was just a costume. It is Halloween."

"Right," he answered, though he wasn't convinced. "Let's go back upstairs. Talk to Jack and Donna. See if anything weird is going on there."

Meanwhile, Jack and Donna were hitting up the spiked punch bowl and making fun of Rose and the Doctor before they were a couple.

"Did she ever get this look on her face when he was talking about him? Like a dreamy school girl?" Jack wondered.

Donna cackled. "Yes! Did he ever get defensive?"

"All the time. I just wanted to make them hop in bed already! Maybe join in. But, that's another story. Rose would _always_ say that she had a boyfriend when I suggest anything. I like Mickey, but come on! Please, the Doctor was the one. She was madly in love with him since they met."

"Who was?" Rose inquired, causing them both to start.

"We're talking about daytime dramas," Jack covered with a swig of his drink. "Holy quickie, Batman! You two were fast."

"We didn't do anything," the Doctor snapped.

Donna gestured to their lack of costume accessories and mussed hairdos, causing them to turn bright red. "Okay, so we did some things. But we were interrupted. Have you two seen anything odd?" Rose whispered as she pulled them aside. "Anything Cybermen?"

"Cybermen?" Jack asked in disbelief. "We got rid of those."

"I know, but we saw something in the wine cellar. It wasn't one, but it looked like it. Just keep your eyes open, yeah?"

They nodded to Rose as she returned to the Doctor, tugging him into a dance. "Stop that, Doctor. Try to have fun."

"What?" he answered distractedly.

"I know you. You're obsessing over it. I'll bet it was just some kid in a costume playing a prank. Trying to steal wine for his mates."

He hummed in response, as his mind was in overdrive. Jack and Donna talked some more before Donna set her drink down. "Excuse me. I have to run to the little girl's room."

"Hurry back. Sidekicks are lost without a wingwoman."

She chuckled and wandered by the loo, accidentally opening the door to the cellar. Upon opening it, she was met with a full blown Cyberman. She leapt backwards, laughing. "Look at that costume! It's amazing! What did you use? It looks so real. It's a robot, right? Maybe from some old show I've never heard about. I'll bet it's uncomfortable," she tapped it on the chest, impressed with the metallic sound. "That's real metal! How on Earth did you find this getup? I bought mine from a shop, as you can tell. I'm Batgirl! Isn't that funny? My mates came as Batman, Robin, and Catwoman. We thought we'd be clever. Huh. You don't say much."

It stepped forward and she stepped back. "We are here to upgrade. Every citizen will become like us."

She cackled. "What a voice! How are you doing that? Little microphone in your head piece?"

It reached out its hand and Donna narrowly avoided it. "You are incompatible. You will be deleted."

"Cute. Real cute. Keep your hands to yourself, okay mate?" she patted it on the chest and breezily walked back into the room and to Jack. "I just met the strangest man. Great costume and great voice, but a bit touchy. I can't seem to find the loo. Do you know where it is?"

"I think so. I just saw a couple stumble out of a room looking frazzled. Follow me," Jack took her hand and they started back down the hallway.

The Doctor and Rose saw them and decided to follow, as they didn't care much for the song that came onto the radio. They caught up with them before they reached the loo. "Where are you off to?" the Doctor wondered. "Somewhere exciting and with better music?"

"Sorry to spoil your plans, but I'm escorting her to the bathroom…" Jack chuckled.

They froze when they heard the footsteps. "That sounds like…" Rose began, turning towards the noise.

"Like what?" Donna wondered.

About three or four Cybermen appeared in the hallway and Jack and the Doctor instinctively pushed the women behind them. "I thought this was over with, Doctor," Jack grumbled.

Donna waved over Jack's shoulder. "Don't be daft. I just talked to that man. Don't you love his costume?"

All eyes fell on her. "That's not a costume! Don't you remember the Battle of Canary Wharf?" Rose exclaimed.

"She was in Spain," the Doctor explained.

"There were Cybermen in Spain," Jack retorted.

"Oi, I was scuba diving!"

"She didn't see the spaceship over London on Christmas either. Had a hangover. Not good with big pictures," the Doctor shrugged as she whacked him.

The Cybermen held out their hands. "Incompatible. You will be deleted."

"Run!" the Doctor ordered as they headed back to the main room. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver from somewhere, no one was sure where, and aimed it at the radio. The music stopped. "Everyone, get out! Get out now!"

The room laughed at Batman and his companions, but the laughter stopped when they heard a scream. Jack took Donna by the hand and the Doctor reached out to Rose. The four of them went for the front door. They skidded to a stop when it flew open and more Cybermen entered, revealing that the guard at the door was dead on the front garden. Barely avoiding contact, they flew up the steps and into the first room they could find. The Doctor locked it and they took a second to catch their breath.

"How in the hell are they back?" Jack demanded. "They were sucked into the void."

"Hang on…" Rose began, the wheels turning. "The void was dead. The barriers were breaking down. The Reality Bomb did that. It allowed me to come back, so why not them?"

Grinning, the Doctor kissed her squarely on the lips. "You're absolutely right! Some of them must have escaped and accidentally wound up here. They're back on their upgrading binge. Trying to take over the world."

"Why crash this party?" Donna scowled. She wanted some down time, not another exciting escapade.

"It's the biggest one in London. Everyone who's well-connected will be here. If they delete them, they won't have as much to worry about when they rise to power. But someone has to be turning the wheels. They'd be very vulnerable and confused without a Cyberleader. That's what must have happened when they returned. That explains the thing we saw in the basement. It must be a new creation. Some sort of scout or minion. We need to find the factory," the Doctor babbled, pacing back and forth.

Jack was at the window, looking for an escape. He wasn't happy with the results. "Holy marmalade, Batman. Are we in a jam…"

"Would you stop that?" the Doctor growled as he joined his sidekick.

"They have the house surrounded," Jack explained. "See the defensive line? I have one blaster on me, but I don't know if that's enough to break through it. Plus, there are two right beneath us by the back porch."

Donna and Rose crowded around Jack and gazed down at the situation below. There was quite the row of Cybermen a ways out, and no doubt the front would be the same. The Doctor joined his fellow heroes, taking in the gravity of the situation.

"I have an idea," Donna began with a smile. "If Rose and I can go first, we're light enough that they won't notice. We can take out those two and you can follow. Then, we slip around the side of the house."

"What if there are more on that side?" Jack questioned.

She put her hands on her hips. "You have the blaster, Robin. And you can't die. Perfect person to send ahead."

"Holy betrayal, Batman! Batgirl wants me to die!"

"Knock it off!" the Doctor groaned. "I like that plan. It's a good plan. First things first, we have to get out of here. Then, we'll find the factory and save the world. How's that work for everyone?"

There was a chorus of agreements and Rose briskly kissed the Doctor's cheek. "See you on the ground."

"Be careful," he told her seriously. "My nemesis better stay in one piece."

Rose was the first to jump down. It wasn't too far luckily, and she landed with the grace of her cat alter ego. Donna wasn't as stealthy, but it did the trick. She pointed to the jack-o'-lanterns on either side of the porch and Rose nodded in understanding. They each took one pumpkin and snuck up behind the Cybermen, effectively slamming the pumpkins on their heads. They swirled about in confusion and Jack laughed from above. "I like you, Donna!"

The Doctor shoved him out of the window and followed behind. He grabbed Rose's hand and they took off for the side of the house. Jack produced a blaster from somewhere, which did cause Donna's imagination to wander, and he started shooting at the scattered Cybermen on that side. It wasn't as many as the front or back, thus they managed to escape and run for the TARDIS.

Once inside, they caught their breath and the Doctor got to work on the screen. "There has to be some residual traces of void stuff or unusual mechanical activity in this area. Something has to lead us to that factory."

Rose went to his side to help him look and Jack winked at Donna. "Good work back there, Batgirl."

"Thanks. I have my moments. Where exactly did you keep that blaster?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Always flirting," the Doctor muttered to Rose. "It's like he has his own language and it all revolves around shagging."

"You're just jealous because it's the one language you don't speak," Jack retorted with a laugh.

"I speak it," Donna casually stated. "And have I complimented you on that costume yet? It fits just right."

"Oi," Rose giggled. "Donna, tone it down. Evil robots trying to upgrade the world here."

"You're the one that called him to be my date!" she defended.

"Aha! I've got it!" the Doctor declared. "Big abandoned warehouse not too far from here. It's emitting smoke as if someone is using it _and_ I detect void stuff. We've found the factory."

The room waited for him to explain the plan, but in typical Doctor fashion he was only making it up as things went along. "So what do we do?" Rose pushed.

"Well, we give them their emotions back. That worked well when we were in Pete's world. Might as well give it a go."

"How?" Jack asked.

He rubbed his face in annoyance. "How long have you lot known me? Do I ever have an entire plan up front? Let's just go over there and I'll figure it out."

"Can we take the Batmobile?" Jack wondered, clarifying. "The TARDIS."

"Wouldn't the TARDIS be the Batcave?" Rose disagreed.

"I'd think that it would be both," Donna shrugged.

The Doctor was already walking out the door and everyone decided to go after him. Rose took his arm and smiled as they swiftly moved the several blocks to the large factory. Someone was using it, but the sign stated that it was closed for a long while. It was definitely the place. After using his sonic screwdriver, they snuck inside.

It was a typical factory, save the sounds of Cybermen marching and distant screams. They hunkered down behind an old work station and Donna discovered a pile of metal tubes. She passed one to each of them. "What are these?"

"Infostamps," the Doctor responded. "They store a large amount of information. I'll bet that these Cybermen don't know anything about this world. They're using them to catch up on history. If we overload the core and open them, we can use these as a weapon."

Rose tugged on his sleeve. "Look, it's that thing from the wine cellar. A bunch of them."

"They are related. I knew it," he grinned. "Fascinating creatures."

The Cybermen and similar beings began to line up nearby. They were unmoving and in perfect formation.

"What are they doing?" Jack whispered. "It looks like they're waiting for something."

A woman came into view on the level above them. Rose wanted to shout to her, telling her to run as fast as she could, but the Cybermen extended their hands and brought them to their chest in submission. "What?" Rose murmured. "Are you seeing this?"

"She must be the one helping them. I told you they needed some sort of leader," the Doctor replied.

"Hello," the woman smiled gleefully. "Our plans are moving forward. The high members of society have been, what is it you say? Yes, _deleted_. London will fall into panic with the loss of these mighty persons. Tonight, the Cyberking shall rise! The world will upgrade or they will be…" she paused and held a hand to ear. "That's when you say…"

"Deleted," the Cybermen spoke in unison.

She clapped her hands. "Lovely. Send out the Cybershades to check the perimeter. We don't want any unwelcomed guests just yet."

The Cybershades split up and began to patrol. One started to head straight for the "unwelcomed guests." They knew that if they tried to run they would be seen, but if they stayed they'd also be discovered.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Three: The Cyberking Rises_

"Everyone, grab a bunch of the infostamps!" the Doctor commanded as he overloaded the one in his hand. He used it on the Cybershade, which instantly died.

The woman saw them and pointed. "What have we here? Those are the strangest outfits."

"Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Catwoman—at your service…" the Doctor responded as he stood up. "Some plan you've got. May I ask who you are?"

"You're the one invading my factory. You first."

"I told you. I'm Batman. _Your _turn."

She rolled her eyes. "Ms. Hartigan. And you aren't Batman. You're the Doctor. We have an infostamp on you."

"Really? Isn't that flattering," he smiled brightly. "And these are my companions. Don't be shy, everyone. Say hello to Ms. Hartigan."

They all stood up and gave an awkward wave. She smirked. "Cute. You must have been at the Halloween party."

"No, we dress like this all the time…" Jack assured her.

Her slender finger pointed at Rose. "I know you. You fought in the Battle of Canary Wharf. Rose. Rose Tyler. You're in the infostamp as well."

"Look at that. I'm almost as famous as you," she teased the Doctor.

"It's nice to meet you all, but you really shouldn't be in my factory. Tonight is the ascension. It's a private party and you aren't invited. But, we can offer an upgrade for the humans. As you for you, Doctor. I can offer destruction. Cybermen!"

"Run!" the Doctor ordered as they ventured further into the factory.

They kept running until they found a service hallway to hide inside. The Doctor locked the door behind them, and they leaned against the dirty walls. "Cyberking? What's a Cyberking?" Rose inquired nervously. "That doesn't sound good."

"Neither does the ascension part," Jack agreed.

"What exactly are these things?" Donna still wasn't sure about that bit.

"They take a human brain and attach it to the metal suit. Cybermen used to be just regular people. That's what an upgrade entails. Becoming them," the Doctor explained. "And they want to do it to the entire world. We have to stop them and whatever this Cyberking is."

There was pounding on the door. They had been discovered. "Allons-y, everyone!"

As they ran, Jack had to start humming the Batman theme music. Donna joined in and it spread to everyone, even the Doctor. They might as well enjoy themselves while they had the time. Internally, they were all thinking of ways to save Earth.

"The ascension cannot be postponed," a Cyberman informed Ms. Hartigan on the top level of the warehouse. "The humans are the most vulnerable now. It is time for the Cyberking."

"What of the Doctor and the others? What if they interfere?" Ms. Hartigan countered.

"They are trapped in a service hallway. We are many and they are few. We will prevail. You must become the Cyberking while we have the opportunity."

Ms. Hartigan's eyes grew wide. "No, you're the Cyberking. I was never to be converted."

"Wrong. You will be our Cyberking. You will be free from anger and rage."

"But you said…" she whispered as Cybermen restrained her. "You told me I wouldn't!"

"It was a designated lie."

Back in the service hallway, they came to a dead-end and a single door. They looked for another exit, but there wasn't one. "What if they're out there?" Donna panted. "I like my brain where it is, thank you very much."

"We can't go back," the Doctor argued. "They'll be there for certain."

"Then let's put together a plan right now. I say we use these infostamp things on whatever we can come across. That should do it," Jack suggested.

"I like that. It's simple," Rose nodded approvingly.

"We don't have many, so make it count. And someone save one for the Cyberking, whenever we meet it. If we kill that one, it should take down the rest. Or…I assume. If it's the king in the network, it should be connected to them all," the Doctor agreed as he put a hand on the door. "Someone get ready. Hit all of the buttons to overload it."

Jack got the infostamp prepared and gave the signal. The Doctor threw open the door and Jack took out the Cyberman on the other side. They ran out and Donna cheered in relief. "One little robot? That the best they can do?"

Suddenly, there were Cybermen and Cybershades on all sides. They went back into the hallway only to hear the unmistakable sound of marching. Jack glared at Donna. "You just had to say that, didn't you?"

"Holy Korea, Batman. We're in deep Kimchi!" Donna spat victoriously as Jack gasped.

"And now you're stealing my lines!"

Rose looked at her strangely. "Deep Kimchi?"

"My gramps has a few friends that fought in the Korean War."

The Cybermen were closing in and they each used an infostamp to take them out. This continued until they only had two left and Jack looked at the Doctor, completely dejected. "We're done, aren't we?"

"Yep."

They held up their hands in surrender and were dragged by the Cybermen to the top level of the warehouse. Once they reached a special room, the Cybermen stopped and held their fists to their chest. Seated on an intricate throne was Ms. Hartigan, only she had a bronze thing on her head and solid black eyes. The Doctor excitedly announced his discovery. "She's ascended and is now the Cyberking! I get it! That's what they were using her for."

"Silence!" she commanded. "You are the first to witness the Cyberking, and you will be the first to witness our power!"

The warehouse started to tremble and uprooted itself. "Doctor?" Rose questioned as they kept rising higher and higher.

Through a dusty line of windows, they could see London below. Metallic arms appeared and they shook with each step. London was being trampled and the Cyberking was laughing. "Wait until we begin the conversion. More and more extensions of me! I am too powerful to forgo emotion. That makes me the most dangerous of them all. Earth will see my wrath. It is a new age. An age of steel!"

"Like we haven't heard that before," the Doctor chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "Why haven't you destroyed me yet, hmm? You know me. You know how many times I have defeated you. But you're holding back. Is there something you aren't telling us? Some need I have yet to fill?"

"Who do you mistake me for, sir? I am no fool. You will be destroyed, but I told you that I am not a Cyberman. I feel and that means that I know what is the best form of destruction. Cybershades!"

The fuzzy slaves pulled a large contraption into the room. Two Cybermen placed an empty suit inside of the mechanism and stood beside it. "What is that, Doctor?" Jack swallowed nervously. "Is that how they do it? Convert people?"

"If it is, it's not the same as before…" he muttered thoughtfully.

"This is the upgrade! It is far superior to our last attempts. All a person has to do is step inside. It closes around them and they merge. A new Cyberman is then born. And you, Doctor, will witness the first upgrades of my reign. I will start with someone you don't know, just to demonstrate how horrifically painful it is."

A young man was tugged inside dressed as a vampire. He was fighting back to no avail. They placed him inside of the suit and it closed as he screamed for help. It turned into nothing but screams from that point, and the suit lit up. The new Cyberman stepped down and paid his respects to the Cyberking. "At your service, Cyberking."

"Tell me. Do you feel?" she questioned.

"I feel nothing."

"Excellent. Off you go."

Donna blinked back tears and Rose gritted her teeth. She had been there one too many times. Jack was quiet for once and had no witty comebacks or comments. The Doctor's eyes went dark and he figured out her plan. "Don't."

"Don't what?" the Cyberking questioned innocently.

"We can work something out. You and me. I can take all of you to your own planet where you can live in peace. Or we can settle this as two very clever people. But don't you dare bring them into this."

She cackled. "Is that a threat, Doctor? You're hardly in a position to threaten me. Not when I have so many on my side. You are at my mercy. Wait, we don't have that. We're Cybermen. It is our duty to upgrade."

"I swear that you will pay. You've seen my infostamp and you know that I don't make idle threats. Leave them alone."

"It's already working," she happily sighed. "You're already falling to pieces and I haven't done a thing yet. Now, who goes first? That's the question. Should it be the man in the cape?" she asked, pointing to Jack. "Perhaps the ginger?" she continued, nodding to Donna. "Or Rose Tyler?"

She studied the Doctor's face and he tried to show no preference, but his fear betrayed him. "Stop while you can," he attempted to sound confident.

"Rose Tyler it is," she decided, noting the pain cross his face. "She's the first for the upgrade."

They started to lead her towards the machine and she fought back. "No! Get off! I will not!"

"Take me," Donna attempted through tears. "Take me instead. Leave her alone."

"Leave them both alone," Jack argued. "I volunteer."

"Your words only make me want her to go first more," the Cyberking replied gleefully. "So much love for one person. This is how I'll destroy you, Doctor. One by one."

Rose struggled against the mechanical parts and Jack tried to reach his last infostamp. The Doctor was thrashing, trying to free himself. The Cyberman holding him easily snapped the Doctor's wrist, sending him to his knees on the floor. "Rose!" he shouted desperately. "Don't let it convert you!"

She was secured in the suit and still fighting it. "I won't become them!"

Donna couldn't watch. She shut her eyes and Jack swallowed the lump in his throat. Both Rose and the Doctor had tears forming as the suit began to close. He kept fighting. "Rose, you're not leaving me again! Rose!"

The suit had fully closed around her and his hearts stopped beating. He replayed watching her drift towards the void all over again. Their farewell on Bad Wolf Bay was next, and he relived the moment in his TARIDS—that first moment of knowing that he'd never see her again. It was rushing back to him, but he remembered that she returned. He believed in only one thing, and that was Rose Tyler. If anyone could make it, she could. He wasn't going to give up on her once more. There was no doubt in his mind that they were going to be together until they were too old to travel.

The Cyberking was laughing. "I feel her becoming part of us!"

In a final effort, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Rose Tyler, I love you!"

The seam of the suit began to reopen. He started laughing as the Cyberking stopped. She shrieked and held her head. The entire structure began to shake and it seemed that the Cybermen were disoriented.

"That isn't possible! What did this?" the Cyberking screeched.

Donna had opened her eyes and cheered at the sight. "It's called love, dumbo! You can't beat that!"

As the Cybermen grew more confused, the heroes were able to overcome them. Jack held out his hands. "Doctor, infostamp!"

The Doctor tossed it as he ran to the suit. It had almost finished opening all of the way. When it did, he reached in with his good hand and helped Rose out. Jack overloaded the other infostamp and tossed it to Donna. "Aim at her head!" he ordered.

They let loose with the final two infostamps proclaiming together, "Pow! Bam!"

The Cyberking was disconnected and all of the Cybermen and Cybershades began to explode. Suddenly, there was a dramatic shift and the structure was returning to the ground. Donna and Jack ran to the railing on the wall, but the Doctor and Rose were a bit busy at the moment.

"Don't ever do that again. Ever," the Doctor spoke into her hair as he held her tightly.

"I won't. You should have known that I'd come back. Bad Wolf? Fairly unstoppable. Rose Tyler getting back to the love of her life? Completely unstoppable."

He grinned and kissed her passionately. Donna embraced Jack and he smiled. "Doctor! The place is sort of collapsing!"

"Right. Of course. This way!" he grabbed Rose with his uninjured hand and they joined the others at the railing.

Rose noticed him wincing and switching hands. "What happened to your wrist?"

"Oh. Cyberman sort of broke it when I was trying to get to you. Nothing big."

"The building is falling back to the ground and you're worried about his wrist? You two are in love," Jack responded as they hurtled downward.

Upon landing, the building fell on the opposite side. They found themselves dangling from the railing, but Donna noticed a horizontal railing that had turned into a vertical one. "We could slide down that. Get on the ground and break through those windows."

"To the bat-pole, Robin!" the Doctor declared as they shimmied across to opposing railing.

One by one, they slid down to land safely on their feet. Jack kicked through the window and they squeezed through it and to the outside. When they got there, they were amazed. "It looks like a Cyberman. But it was a warehouse," Donna frowned.

"Looks like they upgraded it to take over the world, but we stopped them. Go super heroes!" Jack cheered in the corniest possible way.

They started back for the TARDIS, once again arguing about whether it was a Batmobile or a Batcave. The Doctor had his arm protectively around Rose, and Jack was doing the same thing with Donna. It was a miracle she didn't faint from the contact. Once they were inside, Rose put a brace on the Doctor's wrist and Jack made everyone a round of drinks.

"What exactly happened?" Jack wondered as they sat around the console room. "They just started freaking out."

"Rose was momentarily upgraded, but she rejected it. They're all linked together, so she must have used so much force it got to them…" the Doctor explained with a smile in Rose's direction.

Donna grinned. "She heard you, Doctor. She heard you say that you loved her. That's what was so forceful. That emotion. If you hadn't gotten together and admitted how you feel, I bet tonight would have gone differently. The world could have been upgraded."

"Wait, you're right. That's it!" Rose exclaimed. "You're the most important person in the universe. Now I know why. You got me and the Doctor to stop being so thick and just go for it. If you hadn't done that, we wouldn't have admitted anything. Tonight would have gone differently if we weren't together, so the world would have been turned to Cybermen. You saved the world, Donna. Again."

She grinned widely. "Well, it's just another day at the office. Who's up for another round of drinks?"

They had another round before the Doctor had to take Jack back to Cardiff. Rose and the Doctor hugged him goodbye, retreating to the other side on the console in each other's arms. Jack stood in front of Donna with a stunning smile. "You're something, Batgirl. Very impressive."

"Thank you, Robin. You're not bad yourself."

"Holy compliment, Batgirl. You are too kind. It's been fun."

"It has."

He embraced her and then pulled back, planting a huge kiss on her lips. She couldn't move or speak as he backed away with a salute. "I have to get going. I have that date with Ianto tonight. I'll be in touch."

After he shut the door, Donna shrieked excitedly. "Oi, did you see that? Did you see what he did? Captain Jack Harkness just _kissed _me! A temp from Chiswick!" she paused when she saw the couple completely enthralled in each other. "Right. I'm going to bed. We'll talk in the morning…"

She made her exit quickly. The Doctor had his arms around Rose's waist and she was hanging onto the front of his suit. "That was interesting," she muttered quietly.

"I thought you were gone."

"Nope. Never. I mean it when I say that I'll always come back to you."

"Quite right too. I shouldn't doubt you."

That made her grin. "Yeah, you really shouldn't."

"But I'm not letting you out of my sight for a few weeks. I mean it."

"So you'll just follow me everywhere? Even the bath?"

"Yep. Even there."

They laughed and began to kiss, confident that nothing could tear them apart. Naturally, something or someone was going to try again. That's how it always went.


	10. Chapter 10

**Episode Four: The Wedding of Smith and Jones**

_Chapter One: Invitations_

"You want a go, Doctor?" Donna offered with a wicked smirk.

He glanced up from the console with a cheeky expression. "It's not my shade."

Rose and Donna were on the seat of the TARDIS. Donna had a bottle of bright pink nail polish and was giving Rose a pedicure. She was sprawled out with her feet in Donna's lap. Her face was buried in one of her gossip rags, but she paused to look at the Doctor through the brainy specs she stole from him.

"C'mon, Doctor. We'll give you a pedicure, manicure, facial, maybe a waxing, the works. Free of charge. Then, we could take you clothes shopping."

"What's wrong with my suits?" he pouted self-consciously. "What, you don't like the blue one?"

"You need more than two outfits," Donna explained.

"Why? I'm not a girl."

"Oi!" both women shouted, causing him to put his hands up in defense.

"Sorry. Blimey. _Women_."

Donna finished the final touch on Rose's toes with a smile. The Doctor called her over to look at something. She had already gotten her pedicure and manicure from Rose, so she carefully got up and left Rose's nails to dry. The Doctor pointed to a section of the TARDIS. "What's that look like to you?"

"That's a lever. Why?"

He had craftily sat down beside Rose while she was distracted. "Good work, Donna. Right answer. You win the TARDIS game show special."

"You stole my seat! You clever Martian."

"I'm _not_ from Mars!" he groaned. "You know that I hate it when you say that."

Donna shrugged. "You know that I hate it when you show companion preference. That's what you get for tricking me."

Rose put her legs across the Doctor's lap with a smirk. "Now, children. You can share me."

"Nope," the Doctor disagreed as he stole the gossip rag to thumb through it. He held out a hand and Rose reluctantly handed over the glasses.

"Those look better on me. I need a pair."

"Then go dig around in our wardrobe. I have spares. Ah, this celebrity relationship will never work. He's a cyborg and she's Jewish."

Donna rolled her eyes as she leaned on the console. "Are cyborgs anti-Semitic?"

"No. He's just a devout Catholic."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Catholic cyborg? Seriously?"

The TARDIS phone rang and made everyone jump. Donna was the closest, so she answered it enthusiastically. "You've reached the blue box. Donna Noble, time traveler extraordinaire speaking. How many I direct your call?"

"Donna! It's me, Martha!" Martha exclaimed happily. "How are you?"

"I'm great thanks! Tell me the world isn't ending."

"No, but the single life is. I'm getting married. I wanted to invite you all to my wedding."

"Oh, right! Your man came back from wherever he was?"

Martha paused. "Right, about that…we broke things off. I met someone else. He proposed, so we're getting married as soon as possible."

"Who's the lucky man then?"

"It's Mickey Smith."

Donna's eyebrows went upwards. "Really? When's the big day?"

"The twentieth of June. We're thinking about going out for drinks with all us time travelers on the eighteenth around ten o'clock, if you'd like to. There's a little pub on the corner by Mickey's flat called Horace's."

"Sure! We'll pop in for a bit. See you then."

Donna hung up and turned to the Doctor and Rose. "That was Martha Jones. We're invited to her wedding and for drinks."

"She's getting married?" Rose asked with a smile. "That's lovely. Who is he?"

"Mickey Smith, apparently."

The Doctor slowly lowered the gossip rag from his face and Rose had a look of shock. Donna didn't understand the problem. "What?"

"Rose's ex-boyfriend," the Doctor explained.

"Oh, do you want me to call her back and cancel?" Donna wondered.

Rose chuckled. "Of course not. I'm happy for them. I was just surprised to hear that they got together. Mickey and I split ages ago anyway. I've been in love with this Time Lord for years. Took us long enough to get together because _somebody_ wouldn't make a move."

"And there was a void and parallel worlds and Daleks and Cybermen and universes collapsing. I was _busy_."

"You were chicken," Rose teased.

He scowled and pointedly messed up one of her painted toe nails. She gasped at the assault and playfully pushed his chin with her foot. They got into a tickle fight and Donna rolled her eyes. "There you go again. Like rabbits, I swear. I'll be in my room. Try to finish shagging before the eighteenth of June."

She heard Rose's muffled voice through giggles, "We have a time machine!"

"Oh great. They'll be at it for years then…" she sighed to herself.

Several weeks later, after a few more adventures and times that Donna had to take solace in her room from the happy couple, it was time to go out for drinks. They parked outside of the pub and wandered inside. They were greeted by Martha, Mickey, and Captain Jack. Donna almost fainted when she saw the Captain and quickly pulled Rose aside.

"Hair?" Donna whispered urgently.

"Good."

"Makeup?"

"Good."

"Outfit?"

"Just go say hello," Rose chuckled as she shoved her towards Jack.

Everyone embraced and said hello before Jack bought a round for the lot. They sat around a back table to catch up on what everyone had missed.

"And so he proposed and here we are," Martha explained with a smile in Mickey's direction.

"That's such a lovely story. We couldn't be happier for you," Rose grinned in response as she took the Doctor's hand.

"Did you know that Rose didn't even mention that she finally got with the Doctor until _after_ I showed up on the TARDIS?" Jack laughed.

Donna joined in the laughter. "And I was the one that had to bring it up!"

"It was a short phone call!" Rose defended.

"I think that it was a tease. She wanted me to think that I still had a chance," Jack sneered.

She stuck her tongue out. "You never had a chance."

"Really? Doctor, can I see your sonic screwdriver?"

The Doctor handed it over and Jack pointed it at the speakers in the pub. He had changed it to "Moonlight Serenade" and dramatically tossed the sonic back to the Doctor as he extended his hand. "Our song, Rose. We have to dance."

Rose took it and they went to the small dance floor. Mickey and Martha followed, laughing the entire way, as the Doctor and Donna sat the table with their drinks. She nudged the Doctor with her elbow. "You think I got a chance with Jack?"

"He's still with Ianto, but I wouldn't rule it out. It is Jack we're talking about."

She swallowed a gulp of her drink and held out her hand. "C'mon, spaceman. Let's dance. I like this song."

Smirking, he followed her to dance. After a few moments of twirling around, Jack and Rose had moved closer to the Doctor and Donna. Jack spun Rose away and wedged between Donna and the Doctor with a handsome smile. "May I have this dance?"

"Yes!" Donna announced happily.

The Doctor shook his head. "He meant me. Sorry. So sorry."

Donna scowled as the men danced away and decided to join Rose. "Well, let's show them. Two can play at that game. Rose, dance with me."

"All right. I've had enough to drink."

They started to dance and Jack whistled. "Doctor, the fun you must have!"

"Don't start," he grumbled, suddenly stopping. "Did you hear that?"

Jack paused to listen. "I hear the radio and a few guys at the bar."

He inhaled deeply. "No, it's not that. It was a familiar noise, but I can't place it. And I can smell it too. There's something nearby."

"What are you saying?"

"Something is in the air. Something's coming, but what?"

Jack rolled his eyes and patted the Doctor on the back. "You can stand here and sniff if you want. I'm going to go admire the woman on woman action over here."

The Doctor ignored him and kept looking around. He could sense a presence. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he smiled fondly. "Martha. Hello. Weren't you dancing with Mr. Mickey?"

"He's standing with Jack talking about Donna and Rose. They're still dancing since the boys complained when they stopped. What are you doing, Doctor? You have a faraway look about you."

"It could be nothing. It could be something. I can't know for certain. Anyway, congratulations, Martha Jones!"

She grinned. "Thank you. I'm so glad that I found Mickey. It's hard to have a relationship when the other person doesn't understand half of what you've seen."

"That is true. Mickey's a good man. I'm sure you'll have a brilliant life together. Are you still with UNIT?"

That made her chuckle. "Oh no. Mickey and I are freelancers. We fight aliens as we'd like now. We're taking a break to get married, but we have to continue this one case after the honeymoon."

"What case?"

"Well, we think that there are aliens infiltrating various governments around the world. We haven't proven anything yet, but we're close."

The Doctor moved closer and lowered his voice. "How close is close?"

"We have photographs and documents that show strange happenings. It's nothing substantial. Once we have the evidence, we're going to take them down. It's really exciting. Just like old times. Isn't it, Doctor?"

He nodded slowly. "Quite right. Do you know what aliens they might be?"

"Mickey had an idea, but I can't pronounce it."

"C'mon! Don't stop now! You're both so agile!" Jack shouted as Rose and Donna broke apart and came towards the Doctor.

Rose kissed him briefly and pointed towards the bathroom. "Girl's trip to the loo. Want to come, Martha?"

"All right, sure. We'll be right back."

The girls wandered off and the Doctor joined Mickey and Jack. They sat back at the table with a few more drinks. The Doctor wanted to talk to Mickey about their work further, but Mickey wanted to talk about Martha. "She's great. Brilliant. Beautiful. I have you to thank, Doctor. You brought us together. It was something to talk about, you know? And we had all these feelings for the pair of you, but you loved each other. One night to talk about our broken hearts later and here we are. I love it. I love her. I need another drink."

"No, you don't," Jack laughed. "Lightweight. Sheesh. I don't care if it is your last hoorah as a single guy. Me and the Doctor aren't even tipsy yet."

"Well, I'm the only human. He's Time Lord and you're…something else. What exactly are you, Captain Cheesecake?"

"Incredibly handsome and charming?"

"You're full of it," Mickey laughed elatedly.

The Doctor chuckled and moved a seat over. "Mickey, I need to ask you something. Now, answer me carefully. The case you're working on with Martha, what aliens are you tracking?"

"Askahcornicanphonepoptoxiran ."

"What?" the Doctor and Jack asked in unison.

In the bathroom, the girls were giggling and freshening their makeup. "Does he still obsess over the matches?" Rose asked with a tiny chuckle.

"Yeah. You'd think seeing all of time and space would take his mind off football for five seconds. Does the Doctor still stroke the TARDIS and talk to it?"

"All the time," Donna nodded in confirmation.

"It's so great to talk about them, isn't it?" Rose chuckled. "Does anyone have anything good on Jack?"

"Not really. He's so predictable. Flirt, flirt, flirt…" Martha smirked. "Although, he's in a relationship now. Ianto and him are a real item. I'm surprised Ianto doesn't mind all the flirting."

The door opened and a heavy-set woman ran past them. She went into a stall and they heard her stomach growling loudly. They exchanged disgusted glances and went back to doing their hair and messing with their outfits.

"Mickey, please try it again…" the Doctor grumbled, losing patience. Why did he have to get so pissed?

"Rockscorpcanfellapartaians."

Jack and the Doctor exchanged looks. "Mickey…have we encountered them before?" Jack wondered.

Mickey paused and smiled. "Oh yeah. Twice. Didn't I mention that?"

In the bathroom, the woman's gas was starting to gross Donna out. She sent a look in Rose and Martha's direction, quietly saying, "Someone had way too many beans with dinner."

Rose paused and inhaled deeply. "That smells like bad breath."

"It does smell that way," Martha agreed as she wrinkled her nose.

"Oh no…" Rose mumbled. "We might have a bit of a problem."

The Doctor stood up and exclaimed. "Raxacoricofallapatorians!"

Mickey pointed. "Oi, you got it. That's what I said, isn't it?"

"I told you that I could smell it," the Doctor told Jack with a smirk. "Their gas. You can't miss it. Now, maybe there's one in here. Have you seen any larger people?"

Jack sighed heavily. "Why do I feel like that question was directed at me?"

"You check _everyone_ out. C'mon, think. There aren't any in here now. Did you see one?"

"Earlier, at the table over there, I saw a bigger woman. I don't know where she went…" Jack commented.

Mickey held his arms out. "This big? Kind of dark hair?"

"Yes," Jack nodded. "Where'd she go?"

"The bathroom."

All three men paused and began to run for the loo.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Two: This is why we can't have nice things_

The lights began to flash at the end of the bathroom. Rose grabbed Martha and Donna and forced them outside. She looked frantically for anything to hold the door closed. Finally, she found a chair and jammed it under the knob. It wasn't going to hold at all.

"Donna, sit on the chair."

"What's going on?" Donna questioned as she did as she was told.

"I know these aliens. This won't hold it, but it'll slow it down. We'll go get the Doctor."

Donna glared. "It won't hold and you've sat me here? What am I supposed to do?"

Rose quickly handed her a newspaper. "Read. Relax. And don't die."

They darted back into the pub where the men were running towards them. "There's a Raxacoricofallapatorian in the bathroom," Rose informed them.

The Doctor grinned proudly. "Look at my girlfriend! Right on the first go and while slightly inebriated!"

"I am the best. It's unzipping, but it's trapped in there. I have Donna on the door. Plan?"

"It'll rip right through that. Did you notice if it has a teleportation device?" Jack wondered worriedly.

Rose shrugged. "All I saw was a large woman running into a stall to do her business."

Donna was calmly reading the paper while they were talking. "Oh, they're having a sale downtown. Lovely. I could use some new shoes."

Just then, the door started to shake. "Doctor, we have a problem!" she shouted, returning to the paper as if nothing were wrong. The shaking got worse. "Oi! Calm down in there! People trying to read here!"

They heard her and went running. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and blocked any teleportation signals. Then, he pulled Donna to her feet and allowed the door to open. The familiar alien blinked at him and he smiled.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor. Are you Slitheen by any chance?"

"Please, that's an insult. The Slitheen are unprofessional. I am Miltheen. There's a big difference. It's like O'Neil versus _O'Neill_. One letter changed and the entire identity is altered," she retorted testily.

"What do you want?" Martha demanded.

She blinked at her. "There's one of them. The couple that's getting too close. We can't have you foiling our plot for world domination."

"Earth is not for sale. Get your family and _go home_," the Doctor groaned. "I swear, these Raxacoricofallapatorians are all the same. One track minds. Profits. That's it."

The Miltheen looked very irate and stepped nearer to the Doctor. "This is your warning, Doctor and friends. Leave our plots alone or we will have to kill you. I'm not the last to come here."

"Well, here's _your_ warning," Mickey sneered.

"Yeah. What he said," Jack agreed.

The Miltheen laughed and raised her giant hand to kill the Doctor. Without even flinching, he produced a bottle of vinegar from his suit and splashed it on the Miltheen. Mickey remembered what happened last time and grabbed Martha. Jack had an idea and went with them. The Miltheen exploded and sent guts all over the Doctor, Rose, and Donna. Rose picked strings from her hair and Donna blinked.

"Not even a warning, Doctor? This was a new dress," Donna fumed. "This is why we can't have nice things. Right here."

"What are you doing with vinegar?" Jack shouted from around the corner, poking his head around.

The Doctor blushed slightly. "Well, Rose likes her chips with salt and vinegar. I keep some handy just in case we stop for a snack. Chips are universal, actually. Most time periods and planets have them in some form or another, but the use of vinegar has greatly diminished over time. I like to be prepared. But enough about that. We need to talk about the Miltheen."

Rose smirked and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Let's get some chips now while you have the bottle handy and we do this talking, yeah?"

All of them sat at the bar and shared a large order of chips to discuss a plan. Martha told them everything she knew about the case so far. "They're everywhere. Scotland, France, Russia, China, Egypt, Canada, Chile…and those are just the ones we're investigating. All of them have government positions, but they're not really important. For example, the one in Russia is just involved with public works. Though, we've spotted a pattern. Government officials are having accidents. They're dying, disappearing, or having scandals that force resignation. Every time, these suspicious people move up in the government. We think that they're working to take over at some point."

"Like before," Mickey added with a hiccup.

"Right, have you found anything else?" Rose asked as she playfully tossed a chip into the Doctor's mouth. He caught it with ease, making this the fourth perfect catch in a row.

Martha shook her head sadly. "It was circumstantial. We can't pull it all together yet. The closest we got was with the official in France. We found evidence that he was involved with the murder of his boss, but we hadn't told anyone yet. Kind of wanted to get married in a normal ceremony. So much for that."

"That doesn't happen in our line of work. Did you have plan for taking down the aliens when you found them?" Jack replied while battling Donna for the last of the chips.

"Um…yeah…I don't remember what it was…" Mickey mumbled with a hand on his forehead. "I've had too much."

Martha attempted to think as well. "It's at Mickey's flat somewhere. A weapon he made. But, that's about all I can tell you."

"All right, we are not in any condition to continue this tonight. Everyone go home and get some sleep. We'll meet at Mickey's tomorrow morning, bright and early!" the Doctor decided.

Everyone agreed and started to go their separate ways. Jack originally planned to stay with Mickey, but Martha was going to be over at his place to avoid driving home. So, Donna took him by the hand and insisted that he could stay with her. Jack knew about the spare bedrooms, and so did she, but he didn't argue. They disappeared into the TARDIS and Rose and the Doctor sluggishly followed.

When morning arrived, Rose found Donna and Jack still in the clothes from the night before and asleep on top of the duvet. They had to have fallen out the second they got to Donna's room. Smirking, she woke them both with a rough shove.

"Wake up, party animals. Some night you two had. All that sleeping. Must have been _mental_."

Donna glared at them both. "I finally get a handsome man in my bed and all we did was snore? Life is not fair."

Laughing, they met up with the Doctor and went to Mickey's place. Once they got inside, Mickey had everyone wait on the sofa. Dramatically, he entered with an enormous gun and held it up proudly. "This, my friends, is the Slitheeneradicatortron. Or, I guess it'd be Miltheen in this case. I built it myself. This morning, I tripped over it in the bathroom. That's when I remembered my cunning plan to use this to save the Earth. Not bad for an idiot, eh?"

The Doctor and Rose went over to the weapon, placing brainy specs on in unison. "Hmm, interesting design…" he hummed thoughtfully.

"Yes. Quite," Rose smirked as she got a closer look. "Um, Mickey?"

"What is it, Rose?"

She stifled a laugh. "This is a water gun you spray painted and slapped a few gun parts on."

"Well, yeah. But it's not for water. It's for vinegar. That much I remembered. And stop making me look bad in front of the future Mrs. Mickey Smith. You really shouldn't throw stones, Rose. You're wearing those ridiculous glasses."

The Doctor glared. "They're mine."

"Did I say ridiculous? I meant smart."

"We're not buying it," Jack chimed with a laugh. "So what, we go chasing down Miltheen in every corner of the world with a vinegar gun? This is what we're going to do?"

Donna chuckled and idly wandered to the window. "I think it's not a bad plan, as long as I don't ruin another dress."

"But, we can't go to all these countries and just kill them," Rose disagreed. "What if the other ones aren't like the woman in the bathroom? What if they'd go peacefully?"

The Doctor and Donna, both closest to the window, stopped moving. They had heard something. He ran to Donna and glanced through the blinds. A group of very large people of many nationalities were standing right outside the door. He pulled Donna away just as the Egyptian man exposed his big arm and broke the window.

"She said that she wasn't the last Miltheen to come here! They've found us!" the Doctor shouted as he took the gun from Mickey.

"This is my new flat!" Mickey shouted angrily. "This is why I don't run with you anymore, Doctor. You can never have—"

"Nice things, I know. Everyone go to the kitchen. Grab as much vinegar as you can!" the Doctor ordered.

Everyone else darted into the kitchen while the Miltheen began to unzip. The Doctor was struggling with the water gun. The spray paint had sealed the entry point. He attempted to use his sonic screwdriver to loosen the seal, but it wasn't working as fast as he would like. The Miltheen were starting to step out of their skin suits. Time was running out.

In the kitchen, Donna was on the entry way. She saw the Doctor struggling and turned to Mickey with a frown. "Sorry, mate. Your gun isn't working."

"He made it on a whim one afternoon. I'm not surprised," Martha shrugged. "No offense, Mickey. You're just a bit better explaining football matches than you are building weaponry."

"Then we need another plan. They'll tear him apart," Rose frowned fearfully.

Jack had emptied the cupboards with various vinegar products. "Well, we have plenty of things to work with. We just need an easier way to get it to the Miltheen than pouring it over their heads."

"You're a fifty-first century chap. You'd be able to build something that explodes in under a minute, right?" Rose hoped as she pointed to the microwave.

Smiling, Jack broke into the microwave. "I can work with this."

The Doctor still couldn't get the gun open. He tossed it aside with a grumble and held his bottle at the ready. "Stop! Stay where you are! I'm armed!"

Slowly, the Miltheen stopped. The one that appeared to be in charge glared at him. "We can't have an accident like the Slitheen. We're taking this planet for ours."

"Or, you can go home and never come back. How's that work?" the Doctor suggested as he did the math in his mind. There was no way that he'd have enough to take them down.

The four Miltheen exchanged looks and laughed. A different one stepped forward. "You might have killed our sister, but we won't be so foolish. We stay and you die."

"I was afraid you'd say that…"

Rose was hovering over Jack's shoulder. "Hurry up!"

"Okay! Calm down! One last touch. Are you ready with the ammo?" Jack asked the others.

Donna, Mickey, and Martha were all armed and ready. Jack finished the device and they poured ever last drop of vinegar into it. With a mighty toss, Jack threw the contraption into the room while Rose shouted loudly, "Doctor, get down!"

The Doctor darted behind the television just as the contraption…did nothing. He looked up and sent a glare in Jack's direction. Jack whistled to himself. "Well. I'm not as young as I used to be. The mind doesn't work at full capacity."

"Has it ever?" Mickey wondered.

The Miltheen charged forward. With some careful calculations, the Doctor was able to get one with the last of his vinegar. The other three were untouched and reassessing the situation. Based on what they learned of the Slitheen's failed attempts to take over the Earth, the most tactically sound decision was to do something unexpected. One grabbed the Doctor while the others went for Mickey and Jack. The women attempted to beat them back with a broom, a sausage, and chair. It didn't work. The aliens had grabbed the men and teleported away.

"Did our men just get kidnapped?" Martha asked.

Rose looked around quietly. "Yeah. They didn't kill them, which means that we have a chance to take them back."

"Then, let's do it. This woman has a wedding tomorrow. We need the groom," Donna nodded.

"Now, if I were the Doctor…where would I start? He could probably track the teleport somehow. We won't be able to. But, wait a second. Martha, how many people were you watching?"

Martha attempted to think as clearly as she possibly could. "Eight."

"And from different countries?" Rose continued.

"Yeah. All of them were scattered in different parts of the globe."

"But we saw five of them here. They must have come together to hunt you and Mickey. That one in the pub said that they knew you were getting close. How'd they figure it out?"

Martha thought back. "We got the information on the French official through the computer. Secret files. Maybe they were tagged."

"They call could have been warned," Rose continued to think aloud.

"So, if we saw loads of them here, they must have a base nearby…" Donna added.

Rose grinned. "Separated at birth, I swear! Were any of the aliens from London?"

"Ireland, Scotland, and France were the closest. The Irish one was the woman from earlier. She was the only female," Martha responded quietly.

"Great, well that's not much help. Last time, they had a ship. Maybe these things have a ship too. If you were a spaceship in the UK and you didn't want to stand out, where would you be?" Rose asked hypothetically.

Donna grinned excitedly. "One of those geek conventions. When you gave me the newspaper last night, it said something about a big convention in Bristol all weekend. There's a fan made spaceship contest in the car park."

Rose embraced Donna tightly. "I love you, Donna Noble. Let's go right now. Who has a car?"

"I have the keys to Mickey's car. One of the perks of being the fiancée," Martha forced a smile.

Donna patted her on the arm. "Don't you worry, Martha. We'll get them back in time. If we don't, we'll have the TARDIS. You'll get wed no matter what. Besides, you think that Rose is going to let them keep the Doctor from her?"

Stoically, Rose held his brainy specs in her hands. "I'll tear the world apart to get him back. Those Raxacoricofallapatorians aren't going to know what hit them."


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Three: I do_

Within the Miltheen ship, the three men were restrained. Mickey looked to the Doctor nervously. "Why haven't they killed us yet? Are they going to keep us alive? I can't be here long. I have a wedding tomorrow!"

"We'll get you there," Jack assured him, looking awfully comfortable. "Just relax. This isn't so bad. Kind of nice if you let yourself enjoy it."

"Whatever you say, Captain Bondage. I can't feel my feet."

The Doctor shushed them both and directed his attention to the aliens. "Hello! Question: what do you need us alive for? We're too small to be skin suits, so there must be another plan. Am I right?"

"We've heard of the Slitheen's attempt to take this world. You foiled their plot. If we have you here, we do not have to worry about you taking us down."

"That idea would work if we were dead too. Not that I'm suggesting that course of action at this time," the Doctor rambled, piecing it together. "You must need something from us after you have the world. What is it?"

The Miltheen shared a laugh. "Clever. Your technology is famous, Doctor. We could use a brain like yours…and your ship."

"Then keep me and let the others go. This man has to get married. You wouldn't want to come between a happy couple's nuptials, would you?"

"Oh, really? Well, if that's the case we must do as you say! After all, we care so much about earthlings and their feelings. Let's sing a song together while skipping and holding hands. _Forget it_! We know that your companions are crafty. We'll keep the males here to ensure that the females will be unable to thwart us," one answered.

Jack chuckled. "What century are you from? Women can function without men. Some would argue that they're better off. I'd be very scared if I were you. All three of our girls are incredibly talented. They're going to stop you."

Again, the Miltheen laughed. They went about their business and the Doctor smiled at the other two prisoners. "We'll just sit this one out."

"What if they don't find us?" Mickey frowned.

"Have a little faith," Jack smirked. "They've all saved the world. Multiple times. This is just another day in the life. I'd bet that they're on their way to us right now. Especially if Rose had anything to say about it."

Meanwhile, the women were halfway there. Martha was driving while Rose sat in the passenger's seat. Donna was in the back, thinking about their plan. "So, we get there and identify the real spaceship out of the lot. What's after that?"

There was a pause.

"We get inside it somehow," Martha offered.

Rose nodded in agreement. "Right. Maybe we'll just knock on the door or something."

"And then what?" Donna continued.

Another pause.

"We kill them and free the men. That's when they get to have a go at this planning business," Rose suggested.

"If we're going to kill them, we're going to need firepower," Martha commented, which caused Donna to grin widely.

"Turn off. I have just the thing."

In the spaceship, the Miltheen were working on a plan to start a war. Their ideas were more refined than the Slitheen's, but it wasn't in the ready stages. Since they had entered the ship into the contest, they couldn't leave until the end of the day. Thus, they were quietly discussing what to do in the meantime. That's when the noise outside began. The Doctor looked at the hull with a quizzical expression. "What's that sound?"

The noise continued and Mickey smiled. "I know that. That's the theme from Star Trek."

"He's right. It is," Jack agreed.

Humming, the Doctor thought about the predicament. "We're in a spaceship and I hear theme music outside. I also hear people. A lot of people. Where would you hide a spaceship in the UK?"

"Convention," they all agreed in unison.

Per Donna's directions, the women wound up in Tesco. Rose was pushing the trolley while Martha loaded it with vinegar. Donna appeared with large buckets and placed them inside. "All right, angels, let's go carry out a rescue operation!"

"Angels?" Martha repeated.

"Three crime fighting women? Charlie's Angels," Donna explained with a smirk.

Rose paused. "So, would the Doctor be the role of Charlie?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but we do have to go save our men from aliens…" Martha interjected.

Once they had enough of the vinegar, they checked out and loaded the boot. After driving the rest of the way and squabbling over everyone's roles in their Charlie's Angels, they had the convention in their sights. They stopped the car on an adjacent street and wandered to the car park. Rows and rows of fan made ships were visible. The queue to see them wrapped three times around the way, which made the women scowl as they arrived. Rose groaned and wished that she had the slightly psychic paper. They did have their good looks and were surrounded by teenage boys and single geeks. After a quick alteration to their wardrobes, they slowly moved up the queue. Their flirting got the job done and they reached the front.

"I need to see your passes," the man with the clipboard told them seriously.

They looked at one another. "Passes?" Donna echoed.

"Yeah. You can't come to conventions without your pass. The passes are issued 'round the corner."

"No one told us that. We can't wait all day for a pass. It's important," Martha grimaced unhappily.

The ladies had gained sympathy from a geek who had entered his ship in the contest. He strolled over and pointed to them. "All three of these women are with me. I forgot to give them their exhibitor ribbons. Sorry 'bout that. I was very busy getting set up."

The clipboard man glared, but he stepped back. Once they had gotten inside, Donna stayed with the nice man to make it seem like they were with him. Meanwhile, Martha and Rose looked over the entries and agreed on the real ship. Quietly, they went to Donna and told her to wrap things up. She gave the geek a peck on the cheek as a thank you, promising to come back after they looked at the other entries. Together, they ran off to the real ship and stood in front of it. There was a sign that said the owner would be back in ten minutes, so they took their time to argue about how to approach the situation.

"Well, I don't know how to open it from here," Martha sighed irritably.

"We can't just knock!" Donna argued loudly.

Inside the ship, the Doctor glanced at the other men. "Did you hear that? It sounded like Donna."

"Why can't we? It might work," Rose offered.

"What if we scare them off before we can get inside? What then, sunshine? We didn't drive all this way just to lose them again, did we?" Donna continued to disagree.

Jack and Mickey nodded in unison. "That's Donna."

Pointedly, Rose knocked on the door to the spaceship. The Miltheen scrambled to help one of them into their skin suit. He toddled to the door and opened it, holding his growling stomach with one hand. "How can I help you?"

Each wielding a bucket of vinegar, which Martha had filled up prior to their argument, they splashed the skin suit. The skin protected the Miltheen inside. He laughed at them, but it didn't last long. Rose and Martha began to take turns whacking him with their buckets. Donna refilled hers and shoved by the skin suit to the inside of the ship. The Miltheen turned and gawked at her in confusion. She took down a few of them while Rose and Martha forced their way inside.

"Sonic!" the Doctor shouted from behind them. Rose went over and felt around his suit coat while he grinned. "Hello."

"Hello. Here it is. Which setting?"

"It's fine. Just loosen the restraints before they turn the tables."

She worked on his restraints while Martha and Donna reloaded. Guts were flying around the ship and the place reeked of vinegar. Once the Doctor was freed, he ran to the console and Rose went to work on the other restraints. Martha took down the last naked Miltheen, but the one in the skin suit had Donna by the throat.

"Stop what you're doing!" he announced harshly.

Everyone paused except for the Doctor. He just smiled. "I wouldn't if I were you."

"Why's that then?" the Miltheen demanded.

"Your skin is covered in vinegar. The second you try to unzip yourself, the vinegar will get inside and you'll explode. Unless you'd like to be trapped in a human body for the rest of your life, you might want to reconsider what you're doing."

Slowly, the Miltheen let go of Donna. He was the last one of the Miltheen and stood silently in the same place. Rose freed Mickey, who instantly ran to embrace and kiss Martha. Once she had Jack out, he went to Donna to be sure that she was all right. The Doctor triple checked that their advert for Earth was cancelled and no other Miltheen roamed the Earth. Then, he turned to the last one with a bright grin.

"Well, that's better. Tell you what. If you'll be a good little Miltheen, I'll take you home. If you're bad, I will use my screwdriver to unzip you. Just like that, poof! No more Miltheen. What's it going to be?"

He scowled. "Take me home."

"Brilliant. But, first things first, let's get rid of this ship. Crash course for an asteroid millions of miles from Earth. Leaves in two minutes. Everyone out!"

They got out of the ship and stood by to watch it fly away. The crowd cheered and the judges came running over to award first place in the contest, which the Miltheen angrily accepted. As they left, Donna said farewell to her geek friend and left her number just in case. Mickey, Martha, and Jack drove back to London while the others caught a train.

"There you are!" the Doctor said brightly as the Miltheen emerged from a bathroom in the TARDIS later that night. "No more vinegar to worry about, hmm?"

"Yes. And I'm able to attack!" he laughed as his fingers went to his zip. Donna and Rose squirted him with vinegar from toy water guns. "Oh, that's not fair!"

The Doctor shrugged. "Fair. Not fair. Who's to judge? Not me. We're taking you home in one piece. Don't make us change that. That'd really be a shame."

Slowly, the TARDIS began to work and they dropped the Miltheen off at home. He was arrested for his crimes on the spot. Then, the travelers got dressed up to go to the wedding. The Doctor dug out his tuxedo from their pretend catering days and Rose threw on her stunning dress from the market. Donna went for her flapper look and mysteriously vanished before the wedding. Shrugging, the couple took their seats beside Jack.

"Where's Ianto?" the Doctor wondered before the ceremony.

"He couldn't make it. Family thing. I figured that Donna could be my date. I'll need someone to dance with at the reception. Or were you going to dance with Donna again, Rose?"

Rose laughed. "In your dreams, Jack. I was drunk."

"And you will be again if I have anything to say about it," he winked.

Donna finally appeared as well, but she was with the geek from the convention. "Everyone, this is my date. His name is Bentley."

"You have a date?" Jack frowned.

"Oi! Don't look so surprised. You had your chance and _you_ fell asleep on me," Donna shot back as they made room for the two of them. "Bentley is a video game designer. Great imagination."

The Doctor looked him over. "How old is he? Twelve?"

She whacked him. "Twenty-three, thank you."

"That makes you how much older than him?" Jack wondered curiously.

Rose hit him on Donna's behalf. "They're not _that_ far apart."

The Doctor and Jack had a good laugh at that one. It stopped when Jack scowled in recognition. "Great. Now I'm dateless. Me. Of all the people!"

"Well, I could use a date," Sarah Jane commented as she appeared at their seats.

He grinned and made room for her. "Well, Ms. Smith, you are looking exquisite. It's a pleasure to see you again. I will happily be your date. _Somebody _else bailed on me."

"You didn't ask me, you twit. If you had, I would have accepted!" Donna whispered harshly across the Doctor in Jack's direction.

They glared and everyone else caught up with Sarah Jane. Their talking stopped when the wedding party began to take their place. Rose leaned into the Doctor's shoulder. "I can hardly tell that's Mickey. He doesn't look right in a suit. I think the last time he wore one was at Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke's wedding. Makes me think of Mum and Dad."

Silently, the Doctor put a comforting arm around Rose. The music played and everyone stood for Martha and her father. They took their place and had an absolutely mundane wedding. Everyone went to the reception shortly afterwards to have a good time. Once they congratulated the couple, the group split off to dance. Rose and the Doctor twirled around, giggling at the sight of Donna and the geek with two left feet.

"It's a phase. She'll be on about Jack again tomorrow," Rose chuckled.

"What about me?" Jack asked as he danced with Sarah Jane towards them.

The Doctor nodded to Donna. "She fancies you quite a bit, Captain."

"I know. I'm irresistible. By the way, _she_ fell asleep first. Just to set the record straight. Anyway, how does it feel to be next?"

"What?" they asked together.

Jack laughed. "You'll be the next wedding. What do you think, Sarah Jane?"

"Oh, most definitely. Rose is the lucky one that gets to stay for good. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm a tad jealous. But, look at them. What a couple they make! They'll have a beautiful wedding. We'll have to dance at their reception, Captain."

"It's a date, my dear."

"See you at the ceremony, Doctor and Rose!" Sarah Jane called as they commanded the floor with their dance moves.

After that, the Doctor and Rose to smiled at each other shyly. "Well," he smirked.

"Yeah. Well, I did say forever…"

"And it will be forever, Rose Tyler. Nothing can stop us. Not even—"

"Raxacoricofallapatorians!"

He grinned widely. "You're a clever one."

"You don't keep me around for nothing."

They continued to celebrate until the late hours of the night. Everyone said their farewells and started to go home. As the three time travelers wandered to the TARDIS, the Doctor hovered in the alleyway. He heard a leaky pipe dripping into the night.

_One, two, three, four._ _One, two, three, four…_


	13. Chapter 13

**Episode Five: The Twists of Time **

_Chapter One: Familiar Foes_

_(Rewrite of The End of Time)_

"That was wizard! Rose, you were brilliant…" Donna sighed contentedly as she linked arms with her best mate.

"A-thank you," Rose bowed with a smile. "But you, Donna. You were magnificent."

"I was, wasn't I?"

The Doctor cleared his throat from behind them. "I'm back here."

"I can see that, spaceman," Donna nodded in acknowledgment.

"What? No one's going to compliment me? I was on this adventure too!"

"You were great, Doctor. Really," Rose assured him. "But you were no Donna Noble."

Before he could make an exasperated come back, the trio had to stop walking. Ood Sigma appeared on the quiet streets of the planet. Rose looked at Donna and then at the Doctor. He seemed to be stunned and very worried.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" she whispered worriedly. "Why is that Ood here?"

"The last time we saw them, they said that my song would be ending soon…" he muttered softly.

"Like die? That's what they meant?" Donna questioned, attempting to recall the exact moment when the Ood told them that.

In a flash, Ood Sigma was gone. The Doctor didn't move. Rose shook him gently. "Shouldn't we do something? Find the Ood? See what they want?"

"I'm not ready to die, Rose."

"Who said that you will? Maybe it's just a warning. What if it's important?"

"Rose is right, Doctor. We need to find out what they want. Besides, you shouldn't be worried about dying. You've got two best mates right here. We won't let anything happen. You know how tough we are. She's the Bad Wolf and I'm the most important person in the universe. Nothing will hurt us if we're together, as camp as that sounds…"

He hugged them both and slowly continued walking towards the TARDIS. Once they got inside, he prepared to set a course. That's when he heard it. The cloister bell. His hearts sped up and he knew that something very bad was about to happen. Rose gave him a comforting smile and he reluctantly headed for the Ood Sphere.

Upon arriving and bundling in heavy winter coats, the travelers stepped into the snow. Ood Sigma was waiting for them. "Thank you for arriving promptly. We must see the Elders."

They traveled to the Elders, talking amongst themselves about how quickly the Ood were able to build their city. It was certainly cause for concern. The Elders greeted them warmly and said that they had visions to share. Since Rose and Donna were unable to be a part of the telepathy circle, they sat to the side and contemplated in quiet whispers.

After a few moments, they shared a vision with the Doctor. He gasped at the sight of the Master's laughing face. That couldn't be possible, could it? That's when he saw a woman take the Master's ring. He let go of the Ood and sat in shock. The Elders informed him gravely, "There is a greater danger emerging from the darkness. It will proceed the end of time itself. It is returning, Doctor."

"We have to go now," he told the ladies darkly, leaving the room before anyone could say another word.

They could hardly keep up as he ran to the TARDIS. The moment they were inside, he was setting a course for Earth. Rose and Donna exchanged looks.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Rose questioned. "What are we up against?"

"The Master. He's back. And he's not the only thing coming."

"The Master?" they asked in unison.

"You two don't know him. He's another Time Lord. Survived the Time War by hiding in human form. He came back and I had to stop him. His wife shot him and he died in my arms. I thought that was the end of it, but it's not. He had a ring and that ring can bring about his resurrection. We'll start by visiting his wife. Maybe we'll find him there. After that, there's no telling what we'll be up against."

Rose put an arm on his shoulder. "Are you all right? You look shaken."

"I'm always all right, Rose. Like you said, I have you both on my side. We're unstoppable."

By the time they got to Lucy's prison, it was too late. The building was reduced to rubble and the Doctor put a hand to his forehead. "He came back. I can feel it."

"You can?" Donna wondered curiously.

"Yeah. I can. Well, I'm in need of tea. Let's go visit Wilf while we're about."

The ladies were confused by his lighthearted decision, but they went along with it. After parking the TARDIS across the street, they stopped into Wilf's house. He was very glad to see the travelers, as he instantly rattled on about strange things he had seen. "And then this older lady kept showing up and telling me things. Talking about your police box and whatnot. Then, I keep seeing this man. He's laughing. But not the good kind of laughing. The bad kind. The very bad kind."

"That's the Master. Have you seen anything else?" the Doctor wondered.

"Yeah. That woman told me to take up arms to save your life. She didn't want me to tell you about it, but I figured you'd be safe as can be since you aren't alone. Here, I want you to have my old gun. I won't take no for answer. You need this, Doctor. It'll keep you safe."

The Doctor scowled at the weapon. "Wilf, I don't use guns."

"I do. Give it here," Rose said as she took the gun, though the Doctor glared. "He said that it's to save your life, so I'm going to keep it around. Just in case. Don't give me the sleep-on-the-couch look."

"Right, well, I'm leaving you both here for a few hours. I need to talk to the Master alone."

Donna hit him. "You are not!"

"Yeah, you aren't!" Rose agreed.

"You don't understand. He's dangerous. We have a long history and I think that I can get to him if we're one on one. Stay here where I know you'll be safe. I promise that we'll work together after that."

"Fine," Donna growled irritably. "But if you die, it's not my fault."

"We aren't going to split up," Rose continued to argue.

"Just this once. I'll be fine. Really. Don't worry about me."

She pouted unhappily, but reluctantly sat down. "Whatever. If you live, _you're_ on the couch."

The Doctor left to track down the Master. Rose and Donna sat on the couch with tea, silently furious with the Time Lord. "How does he expect to defeat anybody by himself? Or stay safe? What a dumbo," Donna seethed.

"I can't believe it either. One of the most important adventures and he decides to be alone. Let him do it. He'll just miss us. Besides, we get tea and books. What is that one?" Rose asked with a nod to a book on the table.

Donna picked it up. "_Fighting the Future _by Joshua Naismith. Huh. Gramps!"

"What is it, sweetheart?" Wilf inquired as he joined them for tea.

"Who is this man?" Donna asked.

He looked the book over. "Oh, that bloke is a billionaire. That's his autobiography."

Instantly, Donna flipped it open and began to read. Rose glanced at her curiously. "What's interesting about that?"

"Well, it's better than being bored to death. I like autobiographies. Why don't you read the one over there about Margret Thatcher?"

Shrugging, Rose began to read as well. "It is better than being bored…"

Meanwhile, the Doctor found the Master at a junkyard. After being hit with the energy, the Doctor was on the ground with the Master gripping his coat. So much for being fine.

"I had estates. Do you remember my father's land back home? Pastures of red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition. We used to run across those fields all day. Calling up at the sky. Look at where we are at this very moment. How time can twist," the Master scowled unhappily.

"Beautifully put. Exactly how many people have you killed? Probably far more than you can say. Master, I can tell that your resurrection didn't go according to plan. I don't remember you bubbling with energy. Well, maybe in a figurative sense. But, I digress. There's something coming that's bigger than you or I. We need to work together. I need your help to stop it."

"Us? Together? No. I don't think so. It hurts, Doctor. The noise. It's louder than ever. Can't you hear it? Listen, listen, listen, _listen_!" slowly, the Master put his forehead to the Doctor's. In a steady rhythm, the Doctor heard the drums. He leapt back and the Master was overjoyed. "It's real! I'm not insane!"

"That could be argued."

"Shut it. Nothing you say can ruin this moment! It's magnificent!"

In a burst, the Master flew onto a pile of rubbish. He lifted his arms to the sky with laughter. Almost like divine intervention, a light was cast onto him. But, it was just a military helicopter. Ropes appeared and two troops kidnapped the Master. When the Doctor tried to stop them, he was met with a rifle to the head.

"I can't stand this book. It's dreadful," Donna complained as she looked at the cover. "I usually give a book two chapters before I stop, but I don't know if I can do it."

"Give it a chance," Rose responded idly.

Sighing, Donna read the last few pages and turned to the third chapter. She stopped instantly. "Rose, look at this."

She glanced and couldn't believe her eyes. "That's Gallifreyan penciled in."

"Gramps, where did you get this book? Gramps?" Donna called, rousing Wilf from his nap.

Yawning, he motioned outside. "It was in the mailbox. Someone left it as a Christmas present to your mum just yesterday. It didn't say who it was from."

Rose thought about that fact and checked the time. "The Doctor is taking longer than he should…"

The Doctor burst through the front door almost right after she said it. "The Master was just taken. I'm not sure who got him. Sorry I'm late. They hit me in the head with their rifle. How rude is that? I just woke up in a junkyard with my face in someone's old trousers. I'm pretty sure that a rat nibbled on my ear."

"Are you all right?" Rose worried as she went to examine his head.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. We have to find the Master and quickly. I have a very bad feeling about this."

Donna held up the book. "I'm not sure if this has anything to do with anything, but there's Gallifreyan in this book. It was written in."

"What?" he answered confusedly, taking it from her. He read it and smiled. "I know who has the Master. We have to go right now."

In a rush, the trio exited Wilf's house and started a course for Joshua Naismith. The TARDIS appeared in the basement of the home and the Doctor hid it a second out of sync, just to be safe. Together, they began to slink about. Donna wasn't sure what the plan was. "What exactly are we going to do when we find this guy?"

"He isn't well. I can help him, if he'll let me. Hopefully, we'll work that out before anything else happens. We just need to keep the Master under control for now, which isn't an easy task. It's kind of like keeping the two of you quiet."

"Oi!" Rose muttered harshly.

Rounding a corner, they were met with two people in lab coats. The Doctor smirked at them and moved closer. "And what are you doing down here?"

"We could say the same!" the woman huffed pointedly.

"No, I meant what are two aliens doing here?"

They looked stricken while Rose and Donna were highly confused. Rolling his eyes, the Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the man. "And…shimmer."

His true nature was revealed, causing Rose to chuckle at the cactus like alien. "Can I have a go?"

"Be my guest."

She took his sonic and pointed it at the woman. "Shimmer!"

"This isn't funny," the revealed alien scowled.

"Kind of is, mate. You should see your faces! Like an angry cactus!" Donna giggled.

"Now, who are you and what do you want here?" the Doctor asked in a bored tone.

"I'm Addams and he's Rossiter. We're undercover Vinvocci, and we're trying to get back the Immorality Gate…" the woman responded dryly.

"Immorality Gate?" he repeated.

"It's a medical device that heals life forms across entire planets using a genetic template," Rossiter explained as he motioned to a screen in the corner. "Someone is trying to fix it upstairs right now. He's unbelievable."

The Doctor examined the readings and didn't look happy. Rose nudged him with her elbow. "What's wrong?"

"There's only one person capable of this. The Master. Now I know why they took him. They wanted him to fix this. And he isn't just fixing it. He's changing it."

"Changing it how?" Donna questioned.

His face fell. "Genetic template across the entire world…get to the TARDIS right now. All of you."

"Oh no. I'm not leaving you again," Rose argued.

"No time for this. Get in the TARDIS and set the shield to full capacity. If I'm not back in a reasonable amount of time, there's a problem. Go," he commanded with a tiny peck on her cheek.

Before he could explain further, he ran up the steps. Donna and Rose pulled Addams and Rossiter with them to the TARDIS. Inside, Donna and Rose did as they were told and waited. The Doctor didn't stop running until he found the Immortality Gate. The sequence was finished and the Master had just escaped his restraints. He bounded into the Gate and held out his arms excitedly.

"Doctor, I see that you have made it! You're too late, I'm afraid. Everyone, witness this moment!"

The people around the Doctor began to change. Their heads spun back and forth and he couldn't stop the sequence. One by one, they became clones of the Master. The Gate finished and the Master stepped down arrogantly. "The humans were always your pets, weren't they? Too bad they're gone. They're the Master Race now."

He rolled his eyes. "Puns, really?"

"Get him!"

The clones grabbed him by the arms. He sighed heavily. "Is this necessary?"

"It is. I know you, Doctor. You'll try to undo my work and save your little humans. Not this time. You may have stopped me before, that's all you get. From now on, I am the only one. I am the only ruler. This is now a world…of me."

All of the clones applauded and the Master took a low bow.

"Come on, Master. Do you honestly love yourself enough to have billions of you? No variety? No spice of life?"

"One, yes I do love myself that much. Two, I have one Doctor. That's plenty of variety. Take him to my office. Keep him tied up to a chair. One with wheels. I want to take him for walks like a dog. And do put a gag on him. He'll just nag and nag and nag."

"That's harsh. I don't nag," the Doctor disagreed as they began to take him away.

"You do. Worse than a housewife. Off you go. See you soon. Oh, and do put the news on for him. Let him see the world of us."

"Yes, Master!" his clones nodded as they dragged of the Doctor.

The Master saw the Doctor smiling and didn't know what had him in such a great mood. "He shouldn't be happy. He should be very concerned. What does he know that I don't?"

In the basement, Rose and Donna had been protected by the shield of the TARDIS. Addams and Rossiter were frantically checking readings and the alterations the Master made on their small instruments. Rose was pushing them on, balancing her brainy specs on the tip of her nose. "What can you tell me? Anything yet?"

"He sent his genetic code to the world. Every human is now a copy of whoever was in the Immortality Gate," Addams answered. "Who the hell are you people?"

"Donna Noble is me, that's Rose Tyler, and the man is the Doctor. Why isn't he back yet?"

Rose frowned nervously. "I have a feeling that the Master might have taken him. Or Masters. However many there are up there."

"We need to rescue him!" Donna declared.

"Yes, we do. Although, two human women might stand out in a sea of the same exact man."

Gradually, their eyes fell on Rossiter. He gulped. "What?"

"How would you like to save planet Earth?" Donna offered with a smile.

"It's not really our concern," he backpedaled as the women closed in on him.

"It is now," Rose informed him seriously. "Just get me my Doctor and you cacti can go back to space, yeah?"

"Racist!" he exclaimed, faltering under the intense stare of the fiery women. Reluctantly, he gave in. "Oh, all right. But that's it. Just the Doctor. We won't help beyond that."

Donna held up her hands. "Whatever works, mate. Go knock out one of those guards and steal his clothes. Make sure you hide your face. Unless this guy is a cactus, you'd be discovered."

"Stop with the cactus bit!"

"You don't have to get all prickly," Rose shrugged, causing Donna to howl with laughter.

Glaring, he left to rescue the Doctor.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter Two: Escapes_

"What do you think, Doctor? How does it feel that your precious world is mine?" the Master laughed elatedly.

"Oiahey dieink eest hooreefacc."

Rolling his eyes, the Master undid his gag. "Try that again."

"I think it's horrific," he answered. "Well, only the part where that female newscaster is you. Drag doesn't suit your body type at all."

He huffed. "Why are you so bloody cheerful? It's really starting to get on my nerves. The Doctor I knew would be beside himself at this very moment."

"I'm not the Doctor you knew."

"How is that?" he wondered as he pulled up a chair. "What is so different?"

The Doctor smiled confidently. "Unlike you, I'm not alone in the universe."

"Not alone? Oh, you always did like playing with Earth girls. Where are they now?"

"I left them on a planet in the future for a holiday. They're probably getting seaweed wraps or whatever happens at spas."

The Master wasn't buying it. "You wouldn't leave them. And, you'd be very worried about whether or not you could pick them up. Where are they really?"

"I told you. The spa. But, enough about me. Let's talk about you. You don't have to be alone. You could join me and my companions. We could see the universe together. Travel like Time Lords should. You don't have to own the universe. You can just appreciate it. We were once best mates, Master. I'd still be your mate, if you let me. I'd help you."

For a moment, the Master almost seemed to be moved. Then, he clapped his hands. "Bravo, Doctor! Quite the performance. Let's see, I would rather die than be your prisoner. Or did you not get that when I let Lucy shoot me down?"

"Nope. Didn't come through at all. Too understated."

"Oh, all right. Well, tell me if you get this…" he leaned in until they were nose to nose. "Doctor, _I would rather die than be your prisoner_!"

"Still not understanding the point."

Groaning in frustration, he walked away and gestured empathically. "What the hell happened to you? Your cheeky factor has increased by ten! It's like nothing can get to you! This is no fun, Doctor. Your pain amuses me. Where is that pain? The anguish? I demand that you bring it back. Do some brooding or something. If you don't, I will be forced to take extreme measures."

"What are you going to do? Torture me? Kill me? We both know that the Oncoming Storm isn't bothered so easily."

"You are so frustrating. You have no idea."

"Well, I've heard that one before. My earth girls remind me daily."

The Master angrily threw open the doors to the office and waved in two guards. Maybe they could knock the Doctor around until his smugness wore off. The soldiers in masks stood together in front of the Doctor, but he didn't seem the least bit concerned. Scowling at his arrogance, the Master held out his arms dramatically. "My dear clones, take aim at this man. No vital organs. Just make him bleed. Any thoughts or comebacks, Doctor?"

"Yeah. Just one. You're absolutely brilliant, a genius by all means, but even so you are so very stupid."

He pouted in response. "Why is that?"

"The solider to your left is an inch taller than you."

Turning, he was met with the butt of a gun. The other guard turned his weapon on Rossiter. Being that Rossiter had never even hit anyone before, he couldn't bring himself to shoot. A gun shot sounded and all attention fell on Rose Tyler. She was standing beyond the open door with Wilf's gun. She shrugged and ran to the Doctor with Donna and Addams in pursuit.

Donna hugged the Doctor and the chair while Rose planted a passionate kiss on his lips. He smiled at them all as Addams and Rossiter undid his restraints. "Best rescue ever!"

More guards began to appear. Standing, the Doctor grabbed both Rose and Donna by the hand. They took off down the hallway together. Rossiter and Addams wanted to turn to head towards the transport to their ship, but Donna pointed ahead for the TARDIS. It would be a longer run for the TARDIS, but it'd be a better getaway. As they squabbled, the guards got closer. Rose turned around and took aim. She shot the three guards in the knees, causing the Doctor to raise an eyebrow.

"Torchwood did bad things to you," he commented.

"It bought us time to get to the TARDIS, didn't it?"

He nodded. "This is true. Addams, Rossiter, get to your ship. We'll be along. Destroy the link. We can't have them following you."

Even more guards were on the way, so they split up and headed for their escape. Running faster than they have ever gone, they found the spot with the TARDIS. The Doctor quickly helped the two women inside. They disappeared just as the guards caught up to them, and they reappeared on the ship to plan with their new friends.

"That blue box just appeared out of thin air!" Rossiter gaped.

"It does that," Donna smirked, patting him roughly on the arm.

The Doctor joined Addams at the helm. "Are you going to leave or are you with us?"

Abruptly, her answer was interrupted by an incoming transmission. The Master's voice rang into the ship. "I know where you are, Doctor. We have locked onto your ship's signal. Every missile on Earth is ready to destroy you. Do you have any last words?"

With ease, the Doctor destroyed the ship's circuits. Their signature was lost. "Yes, you should do less talking and more acting. Just a thought, Master. Bye for now."

Addams glared. "You just demolished my ship!"

"We can give you a lift. The TARDIS is right there. It's not the end of the world. Well, actually, it is. We should do something about that. Any ideas?"

"I'd have to understand what happened to help," Donna sighed. "Doctor, is every human on Earth turned into the Master? Even my mum? Gramps?"

He frowned. "I'm sorry. So sorry. But, we'll get them back. I promise."

"Can we rewrite what he did?" Rose suggested.

"It's too complicated for us," Rossiter scowled. "We tried to, but it just doesn't make sense. We don't know how he did it."

The Doctor put his glasses on and hummed thoughtfully. "I might be able to do something, but it would take time and access to the Immorality Gate. Two things we don't have."

"Someone can't just get inside it?" Rose wondered as she put her brainy specs back on to ponder as well.

"Yeah, someone else could get in. Like a human. Would that put it back?" Donna hoped.

"It'd just be a world full of Donna Nobles or a world full of Rose Tylers…although…" the Doctor trailed off with a smile. "The last one wouldn't be too bad."

"Oi! Companion preference again!" Donna grumbled, whacking him squarely in the arm.

"I'm a man. It's not my fault that I'd like there to be billions of my girlfriend. Just imagine the—"

"And we're stopping there before you say too much of anything," Rose interrupted with an impressive blush. "Back to the end of the world."

"Right, well, I can't do anything unless I have access to the Immorality Gate…" the Doctor answered, back on track.

Addams laughed mockingly. "Good luck with that. He'll see you the second you get down there."

"And he can sense you like you can sense him, right?" Donna pointed out.

He scowled at the negativity. "Yes, but we can think of something. The universe's brightest minds are all in this room."

"The TARDIS can just appear, so we could land right by the gate. It's just that we'll be met with a bunch of the Master straight away," Rose sighed in frustration.

"If we could keep them back somehow, I think that'd work…" Donna agreed.

Grinning, he hugged them both. "We can! We'll use the TARDIS. It's kept back Daleks before, so the Master is no problem. It'll take a few adjustments, but that shouldn't be too long."

"What about us?" Rossiter frowned. "You ruined our ship."

"Ah, yes. That. Well, if you help us, we'll help you. I could use a few extra hands with the Gate. Then, I'll take you literally anywhere you'd like in the whole of time and space."

"I have always wanted to see our planet's history…" Addams hummed. "Fine. We'll do it."

"We?" Rossiter exclaimed in outrage.

She patted him on the back. "Or, you stay here alone to fix the entire ship."

"Okay, we'll come."

The Doctor clapped his hands ecstatically. "Brilliant! We have to get moving before it's too late."

Just as they were about to head into the TARDIS, the Master's voice stopped them. "Doctor, you will never guess what happened to me. Something came down to Earth. When I went to see what it was, I was very astounded. Shocked, even. It was a diamond. Not just any diamond. A White-Point Star."

Visibly, the Doctor shook. Rose took his hand comfortingly, and Donna stepped forward to take his other. The Master's laughter carried through the ship, and the Doctor muttered to himself, "It can't be."

"You know where those come from, Doctor. You know what this means. I've put it together. The drums have been amplified billions of times. It's a signal. It all makes sense. I was meant for this. I was meant to save the ones that you destroyed. I'm only moments away now. They're coming back. There's nothing you can do but witness the return. Until the end, Doctor. Until then."

The transmission ended and he turned to Rose with darkness in his eyes. "Give me the gun."

"What? Why do you want a gun?"

"There's no time. Give it to me, Rose!"

She winced at the harshness in his voice and took several steps backwards. "I'm not going to do it."

"What's going on, Doctor?" Donna questioned nervously. She hadn't seen him like this in a very long time.

"The Master is bringing back the Time Lords. The last days of the Time War will be released here. Neither of you can know what it was like and what it did to my people. They are more dangerous than any other enemy. Give me the gun this instant. I have to stop this."

"_We_ have to stop this," Rose disagreed. "I remember what you were like when I first met you. I know what that war did to you. I'm not going to let that happen again. You aren't pulling the trigger. At least, not alone."

"She's right. After they killed Jenny, you told them that you never would. You wanted them to make a world of men who never would. I'm not letting you change your opinion now, spaceman. We're doing this as team."

He glared at the fiery women. "You are both innocent in this. It's my responsibility. No one else should have to kill."

"I destroyed Pompeii," Donna retorted. "I think it's too late to say that I shouldn't kill."

Rose nodded. "Stop arguing with us, Doctor. There's no getting rid of us. We're losing time."

Relenting, he ushered them into the TARDIS. "Addams, Rossiter—new plan. You stay here and fix the ship. We'll swing around for a getaway."

Before they could reply, the TARDIS door shut and the Doctor went to set a course. The Immortality Gate room wasn't accessible. The energy readings were off the charts. Apparently, the Time Lords were already on the way. Instead, he aimed for the basement like before and put the TARDIS out-of-sync. Then, they darted upstairs.

After taking out some of the guards, which was thanks to Donna's firm backhand, they found themselves in the Immortality Gate room. There was a bright, white coming from the Gate. Waiting, the Master stood in front of it. In a fury, the Doctor went to him and shoved him. The Master laughed and smiled widely.

"You made it! I was worried that you'd miss the big moment."

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" the Doctor demanded in a low growl.

He shrugged. "Saved our people from destruction. No big deal."

"You didn't just bring them back. You brought back everything from the Time War."

They were interrupted by the arrival of the Time Lord Council. Rose and Donna each clung to a side of him at the sight. It seemed almost too epic or magnificent to be a bad thing. The Master dusted himself off while the Doctor simply glowered.

"Doctor, Master…I see that you have both come to welcome us," Rassilon smiled. "And you have brought humans."

For the first time, the Master noticed them. "Oh, there are your earth girls. I knew they weren't at the spa. Which one is Rose Tyler?"

Rose raised a hand. "Right here, mate."

"You and the time vortex. What a story," he chuckled, seeing the surprised expression on her face. "Oh, I stole the TARDIS a few years ago. I read the files."

"Enough!" Rassilon interrupted. "This is no time for idle talk. We have chosen to live. The Time Lords have returned and are here in glory."

The Doctor laughed mirthlessly. "Glory? You call this glory? Do you even know why the Master brought you back? It wasn't because he wanted to restore our race. No, it wasn't anything of the sort. Do you see where you're standing?"

Rapidly, the Master went to execute his plan. Rassilon used his gauntlet and easily destroyed the Gate and restored humanity. The Master threw a fit. "Doctor, you _always_ spoil my fun!"

"Humans, kneel as the ascent begins…" Rassilon chuckled deeply.

Donna pointed an angry finger. "You, spaceman in the funny robes, I kneel for nobody. Well, unless they've bought dinner."

"Donna!" Rose giggled. "Jack has been a bad influence on you."

"In the best possible way, I think."

"Stop talking," Rassilon groaned. "Human women."

"Tell me about it," the Doctor agreed.

"Oi!" they shouted in unison.

The Master had ignored the exchange. He moved forward with a perplexed expression. "The ascent? What does that mean?"

"I told you that you don't know what you've done. They aren't the only thing that's coming back," the Doctor grumbled irritably.

"They're not?" Rose, Donna, and the Master asked together.

"The Ood said that _it_ is returning. They meant Gallifrey and every horror of the war."

Slowly, he looked to the sky through the skylight and everyone followed. The large planet was getting closer and closer…


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter three: The Song Ends_

"Well, this is fantastic!" the Master cheered like a little boy at Christmas. "I get to revel in the chaos! It's everything I've ever wanted! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!"

Rose pinched him. Hard. "There you go."

"Ooh, I like you. I'll really enjoy watching you burn," he retorted through a smile.

"This is nothing to be happy about. Once you broke the Time Lock, the entire Time War was unleashed. Not just the Daleks. There will be the Nightmare Child, Skaro Degradations, Horde of Travesties, Could've Been King with his Army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres…we'll watch the war turn to Hell. You didn't see the last few days. I did. Not even we can survive this."

Smiling arrogantly, Rassilon had the solution. "We will survive by initiating the Ultimate Sanction. It is a plan for us to survive the collapse of all space and time. Our return will rip the Time Vortex apart, and we will ascend above our physical forms."

The Master, now understanding the gravity of the situation, opened his arms hopefully. "May I be graced to join you?"

"Please. You are a disease of our own making. We will dispose of you," Rassilon sneered as he prepared to kill him.

"Don't!" the Doctor shouting, prompting Rose to point the gun at his head.

He smirked in amusement. "This human girl plans to kill me: Rassilon, Lord President?"

"This human girl took out the Dalek Emperor with a wave of her hand. Step back," Rose smugly replied with a slight movement of the gun.

"You should pick your enemies wisely, Doctor and friends…" he warned darkly.

The Master found the entire thing entertaining. "Look at this. The Doctor's girlfriend is the one with the gun. I love it. Kill him, Rose Tyler. If you do, the Doctor can take his place. You can be the first human Madam President on Gallifrey. You can rule it together."

"No thanks. I'm good with the way things are. I'd like to keep it that way. No one has to die, yeah? Just…go back home? Would that even work?" Rose wondered to no one in particular.

"Bit more complicated than that," the Doctor muttered.

"Right. I figured. Any ideas then? Donna, do you have anything?"

Donna was distracted by the large diamond on a device behind her. She half heard the question, but she had to point at the beautiful jewel instead. "No, though I would like to ask if those diamonds are for sale? Maybe on a ring? Or a necklace? Blimey, just give me one on a stand and I'll carry it around."

"It's a White-Point Star," the Master rolled his eyes. "Only found on Gallifrey and only for Time Lords. No human should wear one."

"You talk like I'm some sort of inferior creature. Like a dog!" Donna huffed.

"Yeah, that's about right," the Master snickered.

"That's my best mate! Take it back!" Rose snapped with a glare.

"Let me think about that. Um…no. You're both inferior. I wouldn't sink so low as to travel with you, let alone do _anything_ else with you. The Doctor is disgusting."

"And that goes double for your mum, mate!" Donna shouted.

"Leave the Doctor out of this," Rose agreed. "You're the one that's disgusting!"

"Well, so is your face," he grumbled, sticking out his tongue.

"STOP!" Rassilon put a hand to his head. "Either kill me or I kill the Master. I have a dreadful headache and we are on a tight schedule."

The Doctor didn't know what to tell Rose to do. He didn't want to kill anyone either, but they had to do something. His mind was running and so was Rose's. She hoped aloud, "Can I shoot something other than a person?"

"Can I have the diamond when this is all done?" Donna whispered as she joined the huddle. They stared. "What? It's gorgeous. Even the Master has it on display."

He smiled proudly at his clever companions. "That's it. Rose, shoot the diamond right now."

Turning, she shot the diamond and Gallifrey quickly vanished into the Time Lock. Donna wandered to the stand with sorrowful eyes. "You…shot…the diamond. What the hell was that!? Do you want to break my heart?!"

"I wasn't breaking your heart. I broke the link. They needed a signal to come back. It was the drums in the Master's head, but that wasn't tangible enough. They needed something more, so they sent the diamond. Destroy that, and their channel out of the Time Lock vanishes. This was all you two. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten the idea."

They were interrupted by Rassilon's furious voice. "I will not die alone! You, Doctor, are going to come with me."

Rose and Donna forcibly pushed him behind them. "You have to go through us first," Donna warned.

"That can be arranged," he smiled wickedly.

The Doctor tried to pull them aside, but they weren't about to let him get harmed. To their surprise, the Master went to stand in front of them all. His entire life was rushing back to him, and he finally understood why he heard the drums. It was the Time Lords that drove him to insanity. The Doctor was right. He could have been so beautiful, and he missed that chance. So, he was going to take it now. "You did this to me. You are responsible for everything that happened! I could have been so much more! Don't you see that?"

"We did what we had to do," Rassilon spoke nonchalantly.

Preparing his hands for the energy burst, the Master smiled and counted the sounds one last time. "One, two, three, four…"

"Get down!" the Doctor called, protectively forcing the women to the floor in front of him.

After a pause, there was a flash and things were blown about. Once it settled down, the Doctor got up and checked on his companions. They seemed to be mostly all right. Rose looked around in surprise. "They're gone?"

"He sent them all back to the last day of the Last Great Time War, including himself…" the Doctor whispered quietly.

Rose tightly embraced him. "It's done. We did it. I'm sorry you had to relive all that."

"It's all right. You were both brilliant. I'm glad you were here with me," he nodded with a smile.

"Well, we weren't about to let those jokers hurt you again. They did a good enough job the first time, back before you had us. That's all different now," Donna replied as she stood a bit taller, proudly smiling.

He hugged her too. "Thank you, Donna. You're my best mate. I mean it. Oh, that reminds me. We have to make a stop before we get Addams and Rossiter."

"Where?" Rose asked curiously.

"To pick up a book."

They got back to the TARDIS and stopped by a bookstore. Donna and Rose had to go through their rooms to find enough money to buy it, but once they did the Doctor took it from them. He wrote something in Gallifreyan on the page, explaining, "This is what led us to the right place before. It says _Go here_. Simple and to the point. Where did you find it?"

"Gramps said it was in the mailbox as a Christmas present for my mum. Wait, I get it. That's from me to my mum for me, isn't it?" Donna wondered, causing the Doctor wink in confirmation. "I'm still not used to this timey-wimey nonsense."

They stopped a few days earlier than when they arrived to place it in the post. It was the dead of night, so no one saw Donna quietly pad to the box and back to the bigger, blue box. Then, they picked up Addams and Rossiter and took them to see the history of their planet. As soon as they were satisfied, they said farewell and collapsed in the console room from exhaustion.

"It's always funny how we dramatically save the world and the next day it's business as usual," Donna commented from her place lying on the seat.

"That's life," Rose agreed. She was lying down up in the coral with the Doctor on the platform by the door. "Did we ever figure out that whole thing with the Ood?"

"The song bit?" Donna seconded.

He frowned. "I don't know. I don't want to know."

"It worked out. That's all that matters," Rose smirked, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He kissed her and they rolled over playfully, which made Rose wince. "Doctor…I still have Wilf's gun in my back pocket."

"Oh, right! Wilf. We should go give that back and assure him that we saved the world. Donna, we're going to your place!"

She merely grunted and mumbled about needing sleep. Upon arriving to Wilf's, she woke up slightly and embraced her grandfather and mother. They went inside for some food and to return the gun. Wilf took it back with a proud smile. "My gun and granddaughter saved the world!"

"And my two best mates. Don't forget them," Donna smirked. "Although, I _am_ the most important person in the whole of creation…I just love saying that every now and then. Makes me feel all tingly."

After tea and biscuits, Rose and the Doctor sat together on the couch while Wilf and Donna helped Sylvia with the dishes. "They're so good together," Donna commented happily.

"I see that you got them to go for it. That's my little girl!" Wilf laughed.

Sylvia only smiled and continued to put away dishes. Suddenly, Ood Sigma appeared in her kitchen and she had to scream. The dishes in her hand broke and she fainted. Luckily, Wilf caught her as Donna's mouth fell open. The Doctor and Rose came running inside, hand in hand.

"What are you doing showing up in human people's kitchens?" Donna demanded.

"I am sorry for any inconvenience. I miscalculated the transmission," Ood Sigma responded regretfully. "Please come to the Ood Sphere immediately."

He disappeared and the Doctor had to help Wilf get Sylvia onto her couch. They said an awkward farewell and piled into the TARDIS, heading right for the Ood Sphere. Ood Sigma was waiting and flinched when Donna walked over and whacked him. "That's for scaring my mother half to death! She could have fallen and snapped her neck!"

"Shall we see the Elders?" Ood Sigma ignored her completely.

Once they reached the Elders, they were met with very happy Ood. They sat them all down and cheerfully spoke about how the prophecy was fulfilled.

"What exactly does that mean?" Rose inquired carefully.

"Though the universe was doomed, you saved it from destruction. The Doctor-Donna continues to travel, and the Doctor's song has ended."

He choked on the drink they gave him. "What? I thought that meant that I'd die!"

"No, no. The Doctor's song has ended, but the Doctor-Rose song has just begun."

"We have a song? The two of us?" Rose smiled excitedly.

"Yes, that is what our prophecy meant. You have survived the toils of the universe to become one. Shall we officiate?" the Elder inquired.

Donna squealed. "I know what that means! You two are getting wed by the Ood!"

"What?" Rose and the Doctor blushed in unison.

"Donna is correct. It is in the prophecy," the Elder confirmed.

The Doctor awkwardly tugged on his collar. "I haven't even asked her."

"You were going to ask me?" Rose asked in surprise.

"Well, yes. I figured that I would at some point in the future. Given time and proper preparation and—"

"Just shut up and ask me."

He smirked embarrassedly. "Will you?"

"Yeah. I'd love to."

They kissed and Donna leapt up and down for joy. Once they split apart, all three of them were added to a circle with the Elders. Donna was there as witness. They performed a telepathy ceremony, which the Doctor had to give the humans the ability to participate in. As soon as it was all said and done, Donna embraced them both and whipped out her super phone.

"Who are you calling?" Rose laughed as she hugged the Doctor's arm.

"Everyone. But first is Jack. I'm going to ask him to plan a reception with me! And don't say that you don't want one. Your mates are going to be angry enough that you had an Ood wedding instead of one that they could see. At least give them a party. It's only polite."

The Doctor sighed heavily at that. "Oh, all right. Do what you want to. You'd just do it anyway."

"Of course I would. This is me we're talking about!" Donna chuckled. "Jack—it's Donna! You are _never_ going to guess what just happened!"

A month or so later, the TARDIS landed outside of Horace's pub. Donna had already been dropped off a week before to plan the reception and give the couple a honeymoon. When they wandered into the pub, they were greeted by Donna, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane, Wilf, Sylvia, and even K-9. They gave everyone hugs and began to talk amongst themselves. Rose was catching up with Mickey and the Doctor was talking to Martha and Sarah Jane. Jack was too busy being introduced to Donna's family by Donna.

"How's the married life?" Rose asked Mickey with a smile.

He grinned. "Brilliant. Martha is incredible. She's the woman for me. I always thought it'd be the pair of us, but look at where we are now. Things have a way of working out, don't they?"

"Yeah. They do. You're still one of my best mates, Mickey. I mean it."

They embraced each other warmly. Meanwhile, the Doctor was at the table with K-9 at his feet and the ladies at his table. Sarah Jane and Martha were swapping embarrassing stories about the Doctor, particularly moments when it was obvious that he had feelings for Rose.

"You can stop now," he told them with a scowl.

"It's not our fault we have so much in common," Martha defended. "We're happy for you, Doctor. You're just too much fun to tease."

Sarah Jane laughed lightheartedly. "Really, you should see your expression right now."

"Affirmative," K-9 spoke from beside his chair.

He wanted to pull his hair out. "Oh, not you too! K-9, I thought you'd be on my side!"

They chuckled and Sarah Jane said seriously, "Congratulations, Doctor. I'm glad you found your lifelong assistant."

He smiled at them both. "Thank you, Sarah Jane and Martha. I'm lucky to have friends like you."

"Please. We're dysfunctional enough to be a family," Martha smirked.

Jack turned on the music from across the room. "The newlyweds get the first dance! C'mon you two! It's time to get this thing going!"

After the first dance, chaos ensued. Everyone took turns dancing with everyone else. By the end of the night, Martha and Mickey were together in the corner while Sarah Jane and K-9 were getting to know Wilf and Sylvia. Donna and Jack were dancing the night away and the Doctor and Rose were seated at the bar with an order of chips.

"Some party," he commented with a grin.

"I'm not sure which part was the best: K-9 dancing with Sylvia or Wilf wearing his coat like a wimple."

Smiling, he added, "Although, you can't forget when Mickey passed out on the counter and Martha put ice cubes down his jumper to wake him."

"Or Sarah Jane and Donna getting into that dance off."

"And Jack joining in."

They sniggered to themselves. "Funny how things work out, isn't it, Doctor?"

"Oh yes. And our song is just beginning, Rose Tyler. Why don't we go home?"

She looked around at everybody else. "What about the party?"

"Mickey drank himself into a coma, Martha isn't much better, Sarah Jane is comparing notes about being a mum with Sylvia, and Wilf is asleep with K-9."

Rose frowned. "What about Jack and Donna?"

"He and Ianto split apparently, and so it seems like he might be rejoining the TARDIS crew. Look for yourself."

She glanced and saw Donna and Jack snogging as they slow danced in a circle. Cheering, she embraced the Doctor. "_Finally_. That took them long enough. Not as long as us…"

"We were busy, remember?"

She smirked. "You and your excuses. Let's go home, husband. Quick as we can before anyone sees us sneaking out."

They stood up and he took her hand with a broad smile. "Run!"

_**End.**_

_A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favs. I truly appreciate it. I started writing this in October of last year, so it's been a long road. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. _


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